title: Antithymocyte globulin induces ex vivo and in vivo depletion of myeloid and plasmacytoid dendritic cells.
abstract: We investigate the in vivo and ex vivo effect of rabbit antithymocyte globulin (ATG) on myeloid dendritic cells (MDCs) and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDCs). After incubation with ATG and complement, the mean number of MDCs and PDCs decreases from 3,168 to 739 x 10/mL (P=0.004) and from 5,314 to 790 x 10/mL (P=0.01), respectively. In vivo ATG given as part of the conditioning regimen before allogeneic stem-cell transplantation induces a stronger reduction of circulating MDCs and PDCs than chemotherapy alone (reduction: 100% vs. 78%-98%). These data show that ATG induces depletion of circulating MDCs and PDCs, which might be in addition to the T-cell depletion a further mechanism to reduce graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic stem-cell transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Lubin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fehse
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Engel
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zander
authors.forename: Nicolaus
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kröger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000628:therapy; D008212:Lymphocyte Depletion; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000628:therapy; D012016:Reference Values; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation
chemical_list: D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum