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Expansion of CD8 + CD57 + T cells after allogeneic BMT is related with a low incidence of relapse and with cytomegalovirus infection
Author(s) -
DOLSTRA H.,
PREIJERS F.,
KEMENADE E. VAN DE WIELVAN,
SCHATTENBERG A.,
GALAMA J.,
WITTE T. DE
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
british journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.907
H-Index - 186
eISSN - 1365-2141
pISSN - 0007-1048
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1995.tb05150.x
Subject(s) - incidence (geometry) , cytomegalovirus , betaherpesvirinae , virology , medicine , cd8 , immunology , viral disease , herpesviridae , virus , immune system , physics , optics
Summary. Peripheral blood lymphocytes of 46 recipients of lymphocyte‐depleted bone marrow allografts were pheno‐typically analysed over a period of 1 year. We investigated the repopulation of lymphocyte subpopulations and their relation with clinical parameters such as graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD), graft‐versus‐leukaemia and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. The number of repopulated T cells varied strongly between the blood samples of the recipients. In 45% of the recipients the number of T cells recovered to or above normal levels within 3 months after bone marrow transplantation (BMT), whereas the other recipients remained below normal up to 1 year after BMT. In recipients with a high repopulation, the CD8 + T‐cell subset contributed more to this high repopulation than the CD4 + T‐cell subset. We showed that the majority of T cells of these recipients expressed the a/3 T‐cell receptor, CD8, CD57 and CDllb. HLA‐DR was also highly expressed reflecting the activation stage of T cells in these recipients. BMT recipients with a high repopulation of CD8 + T cells showed a lower incidence of leukaemic relapse than recipients with a low repopulation. The 3‐year probability of relapse was 19% versus 64% (P=O03), respectively. The relative high number of CD8 + T cells at 3 months after BMT was not associated with the incidence of GVHD. In contrast, occurrence of CMV infection after BMT was significantly higher in these recipients. Our results indicate that CD8 + T cells, predominantly CD57 + , of BMT recipients with an expansion of these cells represent an in vivo activated cell population. This CD8 + T‐cell population may consist partially of cytotoxic cells with anti‐leukaemic activity as suggested by a low relapse rate. The signal for the strong expansion of these CD8+CD57+ T cells after BMT is still unclear, but association with CMV infection suggests that viral antigens are involved.