title: Striking augmentation of hematopoietic cell chimerism in noncytoablated allogeneic bone marrow recipients by FLT3 ligand and tacrolimus.
abstract: The influence of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and the recently identified hematopoietic stem-progenitor cell mobilizing factor flt3 ligand (FL) on donor leukocyte microchimerism in noncytodepleted recipients of allogeneic bone marrow (BM) was compared. B10 mice (H2b) given 50x10(6) allogeneic (B10.BR [H2k]) BM cells also received either GM-CSF (4 microg/day s.c.), FL (10 microg/day i.p.), or no cytokine, with or without concomitant tacrolimus (formerly FK506; 2 mg/kg) from day 0. Chimerism was quantitated in the spleen 7 days after transplantation by both polymerase chain reaction (donor DNA [major histocompatibility complex class II; I-E(k)]) and immunohistochemical (donor [I-E(k)+] cell) analyses. Whereas GM-CSF alone significantly augmented (fivefold) the level of donor DNA in recipients' spleens, FL alone caused a significant (60%) reduction. Donor DNA was increased 10-fold by tacrolimus alone, whereas coadministration of GM-CSF and tacrolimus resulted in a greater than additive effect (28-fold increase). A much more striking effect was observed with FL + tacrolimus (>125-fold increase in donor DNA compared with BM alone). These findings were reflected in the relative numbers of donor major histocompatibility complex class II+ cells (many resembling dendritic cells) detected in spleens, although quantitative differences among the groups were less pronounced. Evaluation of cytotoxic T lymphocyte generation by BM recipients' spleen cells revealed that FL alone augmented antidonor immunity and that this was reversed by tacrolimus. Thus, although FL may potentiate antidonor reactivity in nonimmunosuppressed, allogeneic BM recipients, it exhibits potent chimerism-enhancing activity when coadministered with recipient immunosuppressive therapy.
authors.affiliation: Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute and Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Iyengar
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Bonham
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Antonysamy
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Subbotin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khanna
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Murase
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Starzl
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Thomson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D016466:CHO Cells; D006224:Cricetinae; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000276:immunology; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014019:Tissue Donors; D018183:Transplantation Chimera / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C084881:flt3 ligand protein; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor; D004247:DNA; D016559:Tacrolimus