title: Minor histocompatibility antigens as targets for T-cell therapy after bone marrow transplantation.
abstract: In allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, differences between donor and recipient at minor histocompatibility loci, which encode allelic proteins containing variant peptide sequences, may result in adverse immune reactions such as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), or graft rejection, but also a beneficial graft versus leukemia (GVL) response. Some minor H antigens are restricted in their expression to hematopoietic cells, including leukemic progenitors, suggesting it may be possible to separate GVHD and GVL responses. The antigenic peptides for a few human minor H antigens have been identified, and efforts to identify the genes encoding minor H antigens are being pursued. These advances promise to provide a more detailed understanding of the immunobiology and pathogenesis of GVHD and GVL responses and opportunities to selectively augment T-cell responses that promote a GVL effect by adoptive immunotherapy with T-cell clones specific for defined minor H determinants.
authors.affiliation: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98029, USA.
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gavin
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Riddell
mesh_terms: D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D002999:Clone Cells / Q000276:immunology; D020350:Graft vs Tumor Effect; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D007938:Leukemia / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*