| Abstract: |
It has not been possible to determine the singular contribution of naive T lymphocytes to antigen-specific immunity after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), because of the confounding effects of donor-derived antigen-specific T lymphocytes present in most hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) products. Because umbilical cord blood contains only naive T lymphocytes, we longitudinally evaluated the recipients of unrelated cord blood transplantation (UCBT) for the presence of T lymphocytes with specificity for herpesviruses, to determine the contribution of the naive T lymphocytes to antigen-specific immune reconstitution after HSCT. Antigen-specific T lymphocytes were detected early after UCBT (herpes simplex virus on day 29; cytomegalovirus on day 44; varicella zoster virus on day 94). Overall, 66 of 153 UCBT recipients developed antigen-specific T lymphocytes to 1 or more herpesviruses during the evaluation period. The likelihood of developing antigen-specific T lymphocyte function was not associated with immunophenotypic T lymphocyte reconstitution, transplant cell dose, primary disease, or acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease. These results indicate that naive T lymphocytes present in the HSC inoculum can contribute to the generation of antigen-specific T-lymphocyte immunity early after transplantation. © 2006 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. |
| Keywords: |
adolescent; child; controlled study; treatment outcome; child, preschool; human cell; major clinical study; busulfan; clinical trial; postoperative period; follow-up studies; t lymphocyte; controlled clinical trial; infection; cyclophosphamide; herpes simplex; herpes zoster; hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; time factors; cell lineage; postoperative complications; acute graft versus host disease; chronic graft versus host disease; cord blood stem cell transplantation; whole body radiation; fetal blood; cellular immunity; immune response; infant; infant, newborn; t-cell antigen receptor specificity; herpes virus; simplexvirus; malignant neoplastic disease; immunophenotyping; methylprednisolone; t-lymphocyte subsets; childhood leukemia; graft vs host disease; false negative reactions; cytomegalovirus; lymphocyte function; longitudinal study; thymocyte antibody; virus activation; recipient; immune reconstitution; t lymphocyte antigen; varicella zoster virus; antibodies, viral; herpesvirus 3, human; cord blood transplantation; multicenter studies; cytomegalovirus infections; clinical trials, phase ii; antigen-specific immune function
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