title: Rapid T-cell receptor CD4+ repertoire reconstitution and immune recovery in unrelated umbilical cord blood transplanted pediatric leukemia patients.
abstract: Umbilical cord blood transplantation has been successfully employed for treatment of many immune and hematologic disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of immune reconstitution after umbilical cord blood transplantation in 6 leukemia children. T-cell receptor Vbeta third complementary region spectratyping was used for monitoring the contribution of the thymic pathway in patients' immune reconstitution. Absolute numbers of lymphocyte subsets (T, B, and natural killer), and lymphoproliferative in vitro response to mitogens, recovered within 12 months after transplantation. Furthermore, an overall diversification of T-cell receptor complexity in the repopulating T cells, with a polyclonal Gaussian profiles in most (74%) of total families was observed. Noteworthy, we showed a wider and more rapid reconstitution of T-cell receptor CD4+ T cell families compared with T-cell receptor CD8+ T ones still exhibiting some perturbations at 24 months. These data show that umbilical cord blood transplantation allows immune reconstitution already within 12 months with generation of newly diversified CD4+ T lymphocyte subsets.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Tor Vergata University, Division of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy. andrea.finocchi@uniroma2.it
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Finocchi
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Romiti
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Di Cesare
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Puliafito
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pensieroso
authors.forename: Ippolita
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rana
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cancrini
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Rossi
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caniglia
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rossi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D036101:Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007223:Infant; D007938:Leukemia / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D008934:Mitogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D008934:Mitogens