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Graft-Versus-Host Disease

Regulatory T cell expression of CLA or α4β7 and skin or gut acute GVHD outcomes

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 46, pages 436–442 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a suppressive subset of CD4+ T lymphocytes implicated in the prevention of acute GVHD (aGVHD) after allo-SCT (ASCT). To determine whether increased frequency of Tregs with a skin-homing (cutaneous lymphocyte Ag, CLA+) or a gut-homing (α4β7+) phenotype is associated with reduced risk of skin or gut aGVHD, respectively, we quantified circulating CLA+ or α4β7+ on Tregs at the time of neutrophil engraftment in 43 patients undergoing ASCT. Increased CLA+ Tregs at engraftment was associated with the prevention of skin aGVHD (2.6 vs 1.7%; P=0.038 (no skin aGVHD vs skin aGVHD)), and increased frequencies of CLA+ and α4β7+ Tregs were negatively correlated with severity of skin aGVHD (odds ratio (OR), 0.67; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.46–0.98; P=0.041) or gut aGVHD (OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.88–0.99; P=0.031), respectively. This initial report suggests that Treg tissue-homing subsets help to regulate organ-specific risk and severity of aGVHD after human ASCT. These results need to be validated in a larger, multicenter cohort.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute grant K12 CA090625, the American Cancer Society–Institutional Research Grant (#IRG-58-009-48) and the Sartain–Lanier Family Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

    B G Engelhardt, M Jagasia, B N Savani, N L Bratcher, J P Greer, A A Kassim & F Schuening

  2. Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

    A Jiang & P Lu

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

    S M Yoder, M T Rock & J E Crowe Jr

  4. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

    J E Crowe Jr

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  1. B G Engelhardt
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Correspondence to J E Crowe Jr.

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Engelhardt, B., Jagasia, M., Savani, B. et al. Regulatory T cell expression of CLA or α4β7 and skin or gut acute GVHD outcomes. Bone Marrow Transplant 46, 436–442 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2010.127

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