Recovery of Valpha24+ NKT cells after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Human Valpha24+ natural killer T (NKT) cells have an invariant T-cell receptor-alpha chain and are activated in a CD1d-restricted manner. Valpha24+ NKT cells are thought to regulate immune responses and to play important roles in the induction of allograft tolerance. In this report, we analyzed the recovery of Valpha24+ NKT cells after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and its correlation with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Patients who received a dose-reduced conditioning regimen, antithymocyte globulin- or CAMPATH-1H-containing conditioning regimen were excluded. NKT cells were reconstituted within 1 month after transplantation in peripheral blood stem cell transplantation recipients, while their numbers remained low for more than 1 year in bone marrow transplantation (BMT) recipients. The number of Valpha24+ NKT cells in BMT recipients with acute GVHD was lower than that in patients without acute GVHD, and both the CD4+ and CD4- Valpha24+ NKT subsets were significantly reduced. With regard to chronic GVHD, BMT recipients with extensive GVHD had significantly fewer Valpha24+ NKT cells than other patients. Furthermore, the number of CD4+ Valpha24+ NKT cells was also significantly reduced in patients with chronic extensive GVHD. Our results raise the possibility that the number of Valpha24+ NKT cells could be related to the development of GVHD.
Department of Hematology and Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. kyoh-tky@umin.ac.jp
K
K
Haraguchi
T
T
Takahashi
K
K
Hiruma
Y
Y
Kanda
Y
Y
Tanaka
S
S
Ogawa
S
S
Chiba
O
O
Miura
H
H
Sakamaki
H
H
Hirai
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D005260:Female; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000276:immunology; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000378:metabolism*; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000276:immunology; D014019:Tissue Donors
D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta