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Graft-Versus-Host Disease

Plasma levels of IL-7 and IL-15 after reduced intensity conditioned allo-SCT and relationship to acute GVHD

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 46, pages 1374–1381 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

To assess the impact of homeostatic expansion on the occurrence of acute GVHD after reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) transplantation, systemic levels of IL-7 and IL-15 and expression of their specific receptor chains were prospectively investigated in 45 fully HLA-matched allograft recipients. IL-7 and IL-15 levels peaked at four- to fivefold over pre-conditioning values. IL-7 levels were inversely correlated to absolute T-cell counts. Peak IL-15 levels positively correlated to concurrent CRP levels, but normalized earlier than IL-7. These results indicate that the kinetic course of IL-7 depends mainly on initiation of T-cell recovery, while IL-15 depends more on peri-transplant inflammation after RIC. Longer duration of the rise in IL-7 levels was associated with preservation of a normal CD4/CD8 ratio. In all, 16 (35%) patients developed grade 2–4 acute GVHD at a median of 42 days post graft, preceded by higher IL-7 levels and more downregulation of IL-7 receptor α chain on CD4+ T cells than in patients without acute GVHD, suggesting enhanced homeostatic expansion. In multivariate analysis, IL-7 level measured on day +30 was the foremost predictive factor for grade 2–4 acute GVHD (P=0.002). Measurement of IL-7 level after RIC transplantation might help predict risk of subsequent acute GvHD.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the French Ministère de la Recherche, the University of Lille 2, and CHRU de Lille (EA 2686). ST is the recipient of a PhD Ministère de la Recherche scholarship. We thank all the patients who agreed to be enrolled in this study. We are grateful to the staff of the BMT unit, Service des Maladies du Sang and the staff of the cellular immunology unit.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Lille Nord de France, Lille, France

    S Thiant, M Labalette, J-P Dessaint & I Yakoub-Agha

  2. UDSL, Faculté de Médecine, Laboratoire d’Immunologie, IFR114, Lille, France

    S Thiant, M Labalette, J-P Dessaint & I Yakoub-Agha

  3. CHU Lille, Service d’Immunologie, Lille, France

    M Labalette, J Trauet & J-P Dessaint

  4. CHU Lille, Service des Maladies du Sang, Lille, France

    V Coiteux, E de Berranger & I Yakoub-Agha

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Correspondence to I Yakoub-Agha.

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Thiant, S., Labalette, M., Trauet, J. et al. Plasma levels of IL-7 and IL-15 after reduced intensity conditioned allo-SCT and relationship to acute GVHD. Bone Marrow Transplant 46, 1374–1381 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2010.300

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