title: T-cell independent production of salivary secretory IgA after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children.
abstract: This study examined the recovery of secretory IgA (S-IgA) in saliva after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in 35 children and young people between the ages of 3 and 27 years (mean=13.6), and compared this recovery with that of serum immunologic constituents. Reference values for human salivary S-IgA in saliva were obtained from 77 healthy control subjects between the ages of 7 and 25 years (mean=11.4). In the 35 patients, a nadir of secretory IgA concentrations in saliva (S-IgA) was observed between the 3rd and the 4th month, and a return to normal values 1 year after HSCT. Serum IgA concentrations reached their nadir in the 6th month, and normalized in the 18 months after HSCT. The recovery of T-helper cells (CD4+/3+) was also delayed to beyond 18 months. We found a significant correlation between the reconstitution pattern of S-IgA and that of T-helper lymphocytes, but no correlation was found between the post-transplant evolutions of S-IgA and serum IgA, or between S-IgA and T-helper cells. The recovery of S-IgA was more rapid than that of serum IgA and appeared to be T-helper cell independent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Jena, Jena, Germany. marko.steinbrenner@chuv.hospvd.ch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Steinbrenner
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Häfer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gruhn
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hermann
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zintl
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood; D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory / Q000032:analysis*; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008231:Lymphopenia / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D012463:Saliva / Q000276:immunology*; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides / Q000032:analysis*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides