Premium
Lack of B cell precursors in marrow transplant recipients with chronic graft‐versus‐host disease
Author(s) -
Storek Jan,
Witherspoon Robert P.,
Webb Dale,
Storb Rainer
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
american journal of hematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.456
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1096-8652
pISSN - 0361-8609
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-8652(199606)52:2<82::aid-ajh3>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - graft versus host disease , medicine , host (biology) , immunology , graft vs host reaction , disease , hematopoietic cell , bone marrow transplantation , bone marrow , biology , stem cell , haematopoiesis , genetics
B cell reconstitution after bone marrow transplantation is slow in patients with chronic graft‐vs.‐host disease (cGVHD). Could this be secondary to decreased production of B cells in the bone marrow? We determined the relative amount of B cell precursors in the marrow of 26 patients at approximately 1 year after marrow transplant (10 patients with and 16 patients without clinical cGVHD) and 8 normal adult controls. In the controls (median), 3.1% of all marrow mononuclear cells were B cell precursors. The patients without cGVHD tended to have higher than normal percents of B cell precursors (median 6.5%; the difference from normal adults was not significant). In contrast, the patients with cGVHD had barely detectable B cell precursors (median 0.2%; the difference from normal adults was significant, P = 0.004). Therefore, delayed reconstitution of B cells in patients with cGVHD appears to be due at least in part to decreased B cell production by the marrow. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.