title: Relation between Acute GVHD and NK Cell Subset Reconstitution Following Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation.
abstract: One of the major challenges of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is to reduce the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) while boosting the graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect. The reconstitution of natural killer (NK) cells following allo-SCT is of notable interest due to their known capability to induce GVL without GVHD. Here, in this study, we investigate the association between the incidence and severity of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) and the early reconstitution of NK cell subsets following allo-SCT. We analyzed 342 samples from 107 patients using flow cytometry, with a focus on immature CD56highand mature cytotoxic CD56dimNK cells. Longitudinal analysis of immune reconstitution after allo-SCT showed that the incidence of aGVHD was associated with a delayed expansion of the entire NK cell population, in particular the CD56highsubset. Notably, the disturbed reconstitution of the CD56highNK cells also correlated with the severity of aGVHD.
authors.affiliation: LOEWE Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany; Division for Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunology, Department for Children and Adolescents Medicine, Hospital of the Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ullrich
authors.affiliation: Division for Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunology, Department for Children and Adolescents Medicine, Hospital of the Goethe University Frankfurt , Frankfurt , Germany.
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Salzmann-Manrique
authors.affiliation: Division for Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunology, Department for Children and Adolescents Medicine, Hospital of the Goethe University Frankfurt , Frankfurt , Germany.
authors.forename: Shahrzad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bakhtiar
authors.affiliation: Division for Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunology, Department for Children and Adolescents Medicine, Hospital of the Goethe University Frankfurt , Frankfurt , Germany.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bremm
authors.affiliation: LOEWE Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Goethe University , Frankfurt , Germany.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gerstner
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biostatistics and Mathematical Modeling, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University , Frankfurt , Germany.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.affiliation: LOEWE Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany; Division for Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunology, Department for Children and Adolescents Medicine, Hospital of the Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bader
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI), University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI), University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ernst
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Holler
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI), University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Edinger
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI), University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wolff
keywords: GVHD; NK cell; NK cell subset; SCT; immune reconstitution