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Is alloantigen expression by host epithelium required for acute graft-versus-host disease?

Nature Medicine volume 9, pages 150–151 (2003)Cite this article

To the editor

In the June 2002 issue of Nature Medicine, Teshima et al.1 reported that in contrast to the need for alloantigen expression on host antigen-presenting cells (APC), the presence of alloantigen on host target epithelium was not a prerequisite for initiation of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The authors' conclusions were based on studies of murine bone marrow chimeras, in which major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I or class II antigens were expressed only on hematopoietic cells, including APCs, but not on prototypical GVHD target tissues. Recipient chimeric mice developed GVHD after myeloablative irradiation and infusion of T cell–depleted marrow, which was supplemented with CD8+ or CD4+ donor T cells from MHC class I– or class II–disparate donors, respectively. The authors concluded that the GVHD effector phase was mediated by inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) because neutralization of these cytokines completely prevented acute GVHD in this model, according to all parameters tested (mortality, clinical score and pathology).

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Marco Mielcarek, Beverly Torok-Storb & Rainer Storb

  2. Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Marco Mielcarek & Rainer Storb

Authors
  1. Marco Mielcarek
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  2. Beverly Torok-Storb
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  3. Rainer Storb
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Correspondence to Marco Mielcarek.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Mielcarek, M., Torok-Storb, B. & Storb, R. Is alloantigen expression by host epithelium required for acute graft-versus-host disease?. Nat Med 9, 150–151 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0203-150

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0203-150

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