title: Higher numbers of blood CD14+ cells before starting conditioning regimen correlate with greater risk of acute graft-versus-host disease in allogeneic stem cell transplantation from related donors.
abstract: Host antigen-presenting cells (APCs) have been shown to induce acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) in experimental models. In this study, we investigated whether pretransplantation blood levels of host APCs, such as plasmacytoid and myeloid dendritic cells and monocytes, correlate with the development of aGVHD. A total of 89 consecutive patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from HLA-matched related (n = 48) or unrelated (n = 41) donors were enrolled in the study. Blood samples were analyzed by flow cytometry before initiating the conditioning regimen. In related donor transplants, patient-donor sex mismatch and monocyte levels significantly correlated with aGVHD grade II-IV in both univariate and multivariate analyses. Similar results were not observed in recipients of matched unrelated transplants, possibly due to use of antithymocyte globulin (ATG) or differences in graft source in these patients. In conclusion, pretransplantation recipient monocyte levels are relevant to the development of GVHD in HSCT from related donors.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hematology and Medical Oncology L & A Seragnoli, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. arpinati@med.unibo.it
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arpinati
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chirumbolo
authors.forename: Yogen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saunthararajah
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stanzani
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bonifazi
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bandini
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baccarani
authors.forename: Damiano
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rondelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D018950:Lipopolysaccharide Receptors / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009000:Monocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D019172:Transplantation Conditioning / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D018950:Lipopolysaccharide Receptors