title: Immunological aspects of haploidentical stem cell transplantation in children.
abstract: Thirty-eight children with high-risk hematological malignancies underwent transplantation with megadoses of peripheral mobilized CD34+ cells from haploidentical parents (n = 24) or from matched unrelated donors (n = 14). The CD34+ cells were isolated to a purity of > 98% using magnetic-activated cell sorting. This high purity was associated with an almost complete depletion of T lymphocytes. No pharmacological prophylaxis for graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) was used, and significant primary GvHD was not seen. A final engraftment was seen in all patients. Sixteen patients are alive and disease-free with a median follow-up of 24 months. The immunological reconstitution was faster in the patients transplanted with CD34+ stem cells from the haploidentical donors compared to the matched unrelated donors, and the transplantation of large numbers of haploidentical CD34+ stem cells seems to be superior to that of the matched unrelated donors. The phenotypical and functional analysis of the immune reconstitution provided some insights into the biology of transplantation of highly purified CD34+ cells. In this article, we summarize our current results with the transplantation of highly purified stem cells and discuss possible implications for further antileukemic post-transplant therapeutic strategies.
authors.affiliation: Children's University Hospital, Department of Hematology/Oncology, Hoppe-Seyler-Str. 1, 72076 Tübingen, Germany. rupert.handgretinger@stjude.org
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Handgretinger
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schumm
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pfeiffer
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gottschling
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Demirdelen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bader
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuci
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Klingebiel
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Niethammer
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D000912:Antibodies, Neoplasm / Q000276:immunology; D000920:Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity; D018941:Antigens, CD19 / Q000276:immunology; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000032:analysis; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D003601:Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000276:immunology; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D006648:Histocompatibility; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D018189:Immunomagnetic Separation; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000494:pharmacology; D020014:K562 Cells; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D014019:Tissue Donors; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous / Q000276:immunology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000912:Antibodies, Neoplasm; D018941:Antigens, CD19; D018952:Antigens, CD34; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D006680:HLA Antigens; D007376:Interleukin-2