Post-Transplant Events
Bone Marrow Transplantation (2004) 34, 595–602. doi:10.1038/sj.bmt.1704582 Published online 9 August 2004
Recovery of V
24+ NKT cells after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
K Haraguchi1,2,3, T Takahashi1, K Hiruma2, Y Kanda1, Y Tanaka2, S Ogawa1, S Chiba1, O Miura3, H Sakamaki2 and H Hirai1,4
- 1Department of Hematology and Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- 2Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Team, Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- 3Department of Hematology and Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Correspondence: Dr K Haraguchi, Department of Hematology and Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan. E-mail: kyoh-tky@umin.ac.jp
4Hisamaru Hirai died on August 23, 2003, during the preparation of this manuscript.
Received 9 January 2004; Accepted 14 April 2004; Published online 9 August 2004.
Abstract
Human V
24+ natural killer T (NKT) cells have an invariant T-cell receptor-
chain and are activated in a CD1d-restricted manner. V
24+ NKT cells are thought to regulate immune responses and to play important roles in the induction of allograft tolerance. In this report, we analyzed the recovery of V
24+ NKT cells after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and its correlation with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Patients who received a dose-reduced conditioning regimen, antithymocyte globulin- or CAMPATH-1H-containing conditioning regimen were excluded. NKT cells were reconstituted within 1 month after transplantation in peripheral blood stem cell transplantation recipients, while their numbers remained low for more than 1 year in bone marrow transplantation (BMT) recipients. The number of V
24+ NKT cells in BMT recipients with acute GVHD was lower than that in patients without acute GVHD, and both the CD4+ and CD4- V
24+ NKT subsets were significantly reduced. With regard to chronic GVHD, BMT recipients with extensive GVHD had significantly fewer V
24+ NKT cells than other patients. Furthermore, the number of CD4+ V
24+ NKT cells was also significantly reduced in patients with chronic extensive GVHD. Our results raise the possibility that the number of V
24+ NKT cells could be related to the development of GVHD.
Keywords:
NKT cells, GVHD, immune reconstitution
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