title: Accelerated development of immunity following transplantation of maternal marrow stem cells into infants with severe combined immunodeficiency and transplacentally acquired lymphoid chimerism.
abstract: Transplacentally acquired lymphoid chimerism was detected in two infants with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) by two-colour cytofluorographic studies. These cells had no demonstrable function in studies in vitro. Following T cell-depleted maternal bone marrow stem cell transplantation, evidence of T cell function was detected 20 and 50 days later, and transient B cell function was detected 50 days later. These immune functions appeared much sooner than the 90-120 days usually required for T cell function and the 2-2.5 years for B cell function to develop after haplo-identical stem cell transplants into SCID infants without transplacental engraftment. The presence of maternal lymphoid chimerism did not interfere with haplo-identical marrow cell engraftment, even though no pre-transplant immunosuppression was given. This observation suggests that the transplanted maternal marrow stem cell in some way conferred reactivity on the engrafted but apparently non-functional mature T cells that had entered the fetal circulation transplacentally.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Buckley
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Schiff
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Kidd
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Ward
mesh_terms: D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D002678:Chimera; D005260:Female; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000032:analysis; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D007223:Infant; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens; D007136:Immunoglobulins