ABSTRACT
Following allogeneic bone-marrow transplantation, the blood cells and tissue macrophages of the patient are gradually replaced by those of the donor. Because of this, allogeneic bone-marrow transplantation is the treatment of choice for diseases involving the haemopoietic system such as aplastic anaemia and severe combined immune deficiency. Since the engrafted haemopoietic stem cells give rise to progeny of all haemopoietic lineages (including the monocyte lineage, as precursors of tissue macrophages in the skin, lung and liver tissue, for example), Hobbs et al. [1] proposed that a bone-marrow graft might serve as a permanent source for the missing enzyme αiduronidase in the treatment of patients with Hurler’s disease.
