Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from a donor with severe active rheumatoid arthritis not resulting in adoptive transfer of disease to recipient.
We report a patient who underwent allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from a sibling with longstanding untreated severe active rheumatoid arthritis. After 4 years of follow-up there is no evidence of adoptive transfer of rheumatoid arthritis to the recipient. This case, along with another recently reported case, provides reassurance that haemopoietic stem cell transplantation from a donor with systemic autoimmune disease may not necessarily result in adoptive transfer of the disease. All previous reports of transfer of autoimmunity in humans have been of organ-specific autoimmune diseases and we speculate that pathophysiological differences might account for why systemic autoimmune disease is not transferred.
Snowden
J A
JA
Department of Haematology, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
Atkinson
K
K
Kearney
P
P
Brooks
P
P
Biggs
J C
JC
D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000328:Adult; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D014019:Tissue Donors; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous