Cutaneous GVHD is associated with the expansion of tissue-localized Th1 and not Th17 cells.
Studies in mice have shown that proinflammatory Th17 cells can cause acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) related tissue damage; however, whether they play a role in human aGVHD remains unclear. In a prospective study, we measured the proportion of Th17 cells in the blood and skin of patients at the onset of aGVHD. We found no difference in the proportion or amount of IL-17 produced by T cells in the blood of patients with aGVHD (n = 20) compared with time-matched patients without GVHD (n = 14). Moreover, Th17 cells were not increased in the skin of patients with cutaneous aGVHD (n = 7) compared with healthy controls (n = 10). In contrast, we found significantly more interferon-γ-producing T cells in the skin of patients with aGVHD compared with controls. These data support the long-standing paradigm that tissue localized interferon-γ-producing cells are the perpetrators of aGVHD.
Broady
Raewyn
R
Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. rbroady@interchange.ubc.ca
Yu
Jie
J
Chow
Vickie
V
Tantiworawit
Adisak
A
Kang
Christine
C
Berg
Kyra
K
Martinka
Magdalena
M
Ghoreishi
Mehran
M
Dutz
Jan
J
Levings
Megan K
MK
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D058504:Th17 Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult