High serum leptin in patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
BACKGROUND
Increased serum leptin has been described after various organ transplants, with a mechanism that is still unclear.


METHODS
We measured serum leptin in 60 patients before and after allogeneic (allo) or autologous (auto) stem cell transplant (SCT) and in 60 healthy controls, matched for age and body mass index (BMI).


RESULTS
Serum leptin was higher in patients after SCT than before and in controls. Leptin production was higher after allo- than after auto-SCT; the presence of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) was associated with the highest values. The physiological correlation with BMI was lost in the allogeneic setting, indicating a strong influence of factors other than the nutritional status on circulating leptin. No relationship was found between serum leptin levels and time from transplant, age, cortisol, C-reactive protein, and T-lymphocyte CD4-to-CD8 ratio. Among the cytokines secreted by type-1/type-2 T-helper lymphocytes, only serum interferon-gamma significantly correlated with serum leptin levels. Anti-leptin blocking antibodies partially inhibited T-cell activation in mixed lymphocyte reaction, suggesting a link between leptin and T-lymphocyte activation in the allo-SCT setting.


CONCLUSIONS
Taken together, these findings suggest that increased serum leptin concentrations may contribute to T-cell activation during development of cGVHD.
Tauchmanovà
Libose
L
Department of Molecular and Clinical Endocrinology and Oncology, Federico II University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
Matarese
Giuseppe
G
Carella
Carlo
C
De Rosa
Gennaro
G
Serio
Bianca
B
Ricci
Patrizia
P
Lombardi
Gaetano
G
Rotoli
Bruno
B
Colao
Annamaria
A
Selleri
Carmine
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000097:blood*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000097:blood*; D007959:Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D016207:Cytokines; D020738:Leptin