Murine experiments presented hereafter were conducted with approval of The Salk Institute Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), under the protocol#08–025. NOD.Cg-PrkdcscidIl2rgtm1Wjl /SzJ mice (or NOD-Scid IL2rγnull abbreviated as NSG; age, 7 weeks; males and females; weight, 20 g) were purchased from the Jackson Laboratory, housed in air-flow racks on a restricted access area and maintained on a 12-h light/dark cycle at a constant temperature (22±1 °C). For all experiments involving the use of animals, no inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied in the present study.
