Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2007 Jul;4(7):e198.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0040198.

Graft-versus-host disease: a surge of developments

Stanley R Riddell  1 , Frederick R Appelbaum
Affiliations
Review

Graft-versus-host disease: a surge of developments

Stanley R Riddell et al. PLoS Med. 2007 Jul.

Abstract

Stanley Riddell and Frederick Appelbaum review progress in preventing graft-versus-host disease following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for malignancies or other life-threatening blood diseases.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Clinical Appearance of Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease Involving the Skin and the Upper Intestinal Mucosa
Left panel: The diffuse erythematous maculopapular rash typical of acute GVHD. Right panel: an endoscopic view of the edematous, reddened, friable gastrointestinal mucosa seen in a patient with acute GVHD.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Schematic Illustration of the HLA Haplotypes of a Patient and 4 HLA Phenotypically Identical Potential Donors
Data suggest that the use of the single haplotype-matched donor reduces acute graft-versus-host disease.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Selective Manipulation of T Cell Subsets in Allogeneic Stem Cell Grafts to Reduce GVHD while Retaining GVT and Pathogen-Specific Immunity
Strategies being developed to modify the T cell content of allogeneic stem cell grafts include: a) depletion of the TN subset of cells that contain the repertoire of T cells capable of recognizing minor histocompatibility antigens expressed on skin, gastrointestinal, and hepatic tissues; b) expanding TREG cells that interfere with activation of alloreactive T cells to augment the stem cell graft; c) isolation and expansion of tumor-reactive T cells from naïve T cell progenitors for adoptive immunotherapy to augment the GVT effect; and d) retention of TM cells in the graft to restore protective T cell immunity to pathogens.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Thomas ED, Buckner CD, Banaji M, Clift RA, Fefer A, et al. One hundred patients with acute leukemia treated by chemotherapy, total body irradiation, and allogeneic marrow transplantation. Blood. 1977;49:511–533. - PubMed
    1. Storb R, Deeg HJ, Whitehead J, Appelbaum F, Beatty P, et al. Methotrexate and cyclosporine compared with cyclosporine alone for prophylaxis of acute graft versus host disease after marrow transplantation for leukemia. N Engl J Med. 1986;314:729–735. - PubMed
    1. Storb R, Deeg HJ, Farewell V, Doney K, Appelbaum F, et al. Marrow transplantation for severe aplastic anemia: methotrexate alone compared with a combination of methotrexate and cyclosporine for prevention of acute graft-versus-host disease. Blood. 1986;68:119–125. - PubMed
    1. Wagner JE, Thompson JS, Carter SL, Kernan NA. Effect of graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis on 3-year disease-free survival in recipients of unrelated donor bone marrow (T-cell Depletion Trial): A multi-centre, randomised phase II–III trial. Lancet. 2005;366:733–741. - PubMed
    1. Petersdorf EW, Hansen JA, Martin PJ, Woolfrey A, Malkki M, et al. Major-histocompatibility-complex class I alleles and antigens in hematopoietic-cell transplantation. N Engl J Med. 2001;345:1794–1800. - PubMed