title: α-GalCer administration after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation improves immune reconstitution in mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the effect of α- galactosyleramide( α-GalCer ) on immune reconstitution under acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD).
  
  
  METHODS
  BALB/c mice were transplanted wit hallogeneic C57BL/6 bone marrow cells and splenocytes (both 1×10(7))after receiving lethal total-body irradiation. α-GalCer (100 ug/kg) or vehicle (dimethylsulfoxide) was administered intraperitoneally immediately after transplantation. The effects of α-GalCer on immune reconstitution,proliferation of T cells and B cells, hematopoiesis,and thymic microenvironment were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The α-GalCer group exhibited higher percentages of CD3(+),CD4(+), CD8(+), B220(+), CD40(+), and CD86(+)cells compared with the vehicle group . The number of colony forming unit per 1000 CD34(+) cells in the α-GalCer group was higher than in the vehicle group ( P=0.0012).In vitro proliferation assays showed that the α-GalCer group had higher percentages of CD3(+), CD4(+), CD8(+),and B220(+) cells compared with the vehicle group. As for the results of in vivo proliferation assays, the numbers of CD3(+), CD4(+), CD8(+), and B220(+)cells were higher in the α-GalCer group than in the normal group ,especially the number of B220(+) cells ( P=0.007).Significant difference was not found in thymocyte count between the α-GalCer group and the vehicle group, nor in the percentages of CD3(+), CD4(+), and CD8(+) cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Administration of α-GalCer after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation may promote immune reconstitution in the presence of aGVHD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Beijing 100853, [corrected] China.
authors.forename: Jing-hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jing-Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Li-ping
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Dou
authors.forename: Li-Ping
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Dou
authors.forename: Li-xin
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Li-Xin
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Li-li
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Li-Li
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D005699:Galactosylceramides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000276:immunology; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D005699:Galactosylceramides; C493154:alpha-galactosylceramide