IL-21 is critical for GVHD in a mouse model.
Immunological effects of IL-21 on T, B and natural killer (NK) cells have been reported, but the role of IL-21 in GVHD remains obscure. Here, we demonstrate that morbidity and mortality of GVHD was significantly reduced after BMT with splenocytes from IL-21R(-/-) mice compared with those from wild type mice. To further confirm our observation, we generated a decoy receptor for IL-21. GVHD was again less severe in mice receiving BM cells transduced with the IL-21 decoy receptor than control mice These results suggest that IL-21 critically regulates GVHD, and that blockade of the IL-21 signal may represent a novel strategy for the prophylaxis for GVHD.
Meguro
A
A
Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Jichi Medical University Tochigi, Tochigi, Japan.
Ozaki
K
K
Oh
I
I
Hatanaka
K
K
Matsu
H
H
Tatara
R
R
Sato
K
K
Leonard
W J
WJ
Ozawa
K
K
D000818:Animals; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D007378:Interleukins / Q000276:immunology*; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D000098546:Interleukin-21
D007378:Interleukins; D000098546:Interleukin-21