The implications of myelodysplastic syndrome – associated chromosomal abnormalities in the development of graft‐versus‐host disease

There is a growing body of evidences that acquired chromosomal abnormalities in bone marrow ( BM ) cells are associated with clinical manifestations of myelodysplastic syndrome ( MDS ). However, to our knowledge, there are no reports that describe the association between chromosomal abnormalities in MDS and graft‐versus‐host disease ( GVHD ) after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo‐ SCT ). Here, we describe two MDS cases with trisomy 8 and der(1;7)(q10;p10), who developed severe GVHD after allo‐ SCT . We analyzed cytokine production and cell survival of monocytes from these patients with MDS before allo‐ SCT , in comparison with healthy controls or an MDS patient with a different chromosomal abnormality, who has not developed GVHD . The monocytes from MDS patients with trisomy 8 and der(1;7)(q10;p10) produced a larger amount of pro‐inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor‐α, and a smaller amount of anti‐inflammatory cytokine, interleukin‐10, on stimulation with Toll‐like receptor ( TLR ) ligands. In addition, the monocytes from MDS cases with GVHD showed a decrease in apoptotic cell death upon stimulation with TLR ligands. We also detected host‐derived pro‐inflammatory antigen‐presenting cells ( APC s) in skin GVHD lesions after allo‐ SCT . These data suggest that trisomy 8 and der(1;7)(q10;p10) may be associated with the development of severe GVHD , by prolonging survival of pro‐inflammatory host‐derived APC s in GVHD lesions.