¹Hyogo Institute of Clinical Research, Hyogo, Japan

²Hematology/Oncology Division, Hyogo Medical Center for Adults, Hyogo, Japan

³Department of Medicine, Kobe University School of Medicine, Hyogo, Japan

Correspondence to: Dr T Koizumi, Hyogo Institute of Clinical Research, 13-70, Kitaoji-cho, Akashi 673-8558, Japan

Patients who receive a donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) for the treatment of relapsed leukemia after allogeneic BMT (alloBMT) often developed GVHD. To determine whether cytokines might have a role in GVHD, an intensive kinetic analysis of in vivo cytokine gene expression was performed on PBMC from three such patients. Expression of IL-1, IL-2, IFN-, IL-4, IL-5, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, TNF-, and IL-2R was examined using a sensitive semi-quantitative reverse transcription (RT)-PCR assay system. Six normal controls were also analyzed for comparison. Expression of type 1 T helper (Th1) cytokines, IL-2 and IFN- was greatly increased in all three patients. In particular, the changes in IL-2 gene expression correlated well with disease progression, suggesting that IL-2 has a critical role in the development of GVHD. Although the pattern of type 2 T helper (Th2) cytokine gene expression differed in each patient, the expression of IL-4 was inversely related to expression of Th1 cytokines. These results suggest that Th1 dominates in the development of human clinical GVHD. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2001) 27, 373-380.

cytokine; GVHD; BMT; donor lymphocyte infusion