title: Profile of toll-like receptors on peripheral blood cells in relation to acute graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic stem cell transplantation.
abstract: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a key role in the cross-talk between the innate and adaptive immune systems. Previous studies investigating associations between certain TLRs and acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) have reported contrasting results, and no studies relating aGVHD to the expression and function of all human TLRs together have been published to date. We prospectively evaluated the expression of 9 TLRs on T lymphocytes and monocytes by flow cytometry in relation to aGVHD in 34 patients. Induction of TNF-α, IL-4, IFN-γ, and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 on TLR activation was assessed by ELISA on cell supernatants. Nineteen patients developed aGVHD, at a median time of 28 days (range, 20-50 days) after transplantation. A 2-step multivariate analysis was performed using principal component analysis and multifactor analysis of variance. The levels of TLR-5 expression on monocytes and T lymphocytes were positively correlated to aGVHD (P = .01), whereas levels of TLR-1 and -9 were negative predictors (P = .03 and .01, respectively). This profile of TLR-1, -5, and -9 can promote an overall immunostimulatory/proinflammatory response. If our findings are confirmed by further studies, this TLR profile could be a useful biomarker of aGVHD.
authors.affiliation: Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Department of Hematology, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy. cristina_skert@yahoo.it
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Skert
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fogli
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perucca
authors.forename: Emirena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garrafa
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fiorentini
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Filì
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bergonzi
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malagola
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Turra
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Colombi
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cattina
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alghisi
authors.forename: Arnaldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caruso
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Russo
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009000:Monocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000097:blood*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D051193:Toll-Like Receptors