title: Serum IgE levels after bone marrow transplantation.
abstract: Total serum IgE levels were followed in 135 bone marrow transplant recipients in order to determine the clinical significance of post-transplant serum IgE monitoring. Patients with IgE levels less than 60 U/ml at the time of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) (59%) experienced at least one IgE peak. Patients with pretransplant IgE levels greater than or equal to 60 U/ml (16%) showed decreasing values following BMT. In 19% of patients, IgE levels were low and did not change up to 3 months after BMT. Increase in IgE levels coincided in time with engraftment (p less than 0.01) and acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) (p less than 0.01). Early IgE peaks were also seen in patients without GVHD. Maximal IgE values did not differ during grades II-IV GVHD compared with grades 0-1, but two or more peaks were more common in patients with grades II-IV (p less than 0.001). IgE peaks also appeared in patients receiving T cell-depleted marrow without GVHD. Syngeneic bone marrow recipients had high IgE levels after BMT. Two patients had increasing IgE values following reconditioning and retransplantation, but booster grafts had no effect on IgE levels. IgE levels were not changed during septicemia, herpes simplex virus or cytomegalovirus infections, and chronic GVHD. No linear correlation was found between serum IgE levels and CD4+/CD8+ ratios, percentages, or absolute numbers of either group of cells. It was concluded that serum IgE elevation is found in association with engraftment and acute GVHD, but is mainly caused by the conditioning treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Immunology, Huddinge Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Abedi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bäckman
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Persson
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ringdén
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000378:metabolism*; D007223:Infant; D008875:Middle Aged; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E