The number of T cell allo-epitopes associates with CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell infiltration in pediatric cutaneous GVHD

K.A. Thus, A.G.S. van Halteren, T. de Hond, M.R. van Dijk, R.Q. Kloos, A.C. Lankester, M.B. Bierings, Eric Spierings

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Risk factors for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) following allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HCST) include: HLA mismatches, sex-mismatch, and stem-cell source. We retrospectively analyzed if HLA- and sex-mismatching quantitatively affects the composition of GVHD-induced T-cell infiltrates. We quantified absolute numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells present in tissue sections from skin biopsies of 23 pediatric HSCT-recipients with GVHD. HSCT with a sex-mismatched unrelated donor was associated with an increased number of CD4+ T cells when compared to a sex-matched unrelated donor (p=0.01). The absolute numbers of skin-infiltrating T cells were increased in patients expressing T-cell epitopes derived from the recipient's mismatched HLA, so called predicted indirectly recognizable HLA epitopes (PIRCHE). The combined expression of PIRCHE with a sex-mismatch resulted in the highest number of skin-infiltrating T cells. Our results indicate that an increased number of recipient-specific T-cell epitopes is associated with accumulation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the skin.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)112-117
Number of pages6
JournalCellular Immunology
Volume295
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2015

Keywords

  • PIRCHE
  • GVHD
  • SKIN
  • T cells
  • Pediatric
  • Immunology
  • Stem cell transplantation

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