Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0018133 (graft-versus-host disease)
 18,032 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Seventeen patients with relapsed, acute leukemia were grafted with bone marrow from HLA-identical siblings by the 'Munich Cooperative Group for Bone Marrow Transplantation' during the period from August 1975 to June 1980. The antileukemic and immunosuppressive conditioning treatment consisted of high doses of bischlorethyl nitrosourea, Cytosine-Arabinoside and Cyclophosphamide, as well as, total body irradiation of about 9 Gy (midline body dose) from dual 60Cobalt sources. Methotrexate was given to all patients for prophylaxis of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). Nine patients received marrow that was treated with anti-T-cell globulin (ATCG) "in vitro".--Crossreacting antibodies against hemopoietic stem cells were removed by absorption. Two of 5 evaluable patients given untreated marrow developed chronic GvHD, while patients given ATCG-treated marrow did not show unequivocal symptoms of GvHD. Six patients are in complete remission one to 33 months following bone marrow transplantation (b.m.t.) Five patients died with relapses of leukemia between 3 1/2 and 24 months following b.m.t., 3 patients died with interstitial pneumonia within 3 months of b.m.t. and 3 patients died with insufficient graft function within 4 weeks of b.m.t. Four of thirteen patients that were grafted more than 6 months ago are presently alive and in continuous complete remission at 11, 14, 29 and 33 months following b.m.t. Our results confirm that longterm remissions can be obtained with b.m.t. in patients with acute leukemia in advanced stage.
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PMID:[Bone marrow transplantation for relapsed, acute leukaemia (author's transl)]. 701 3

The interleukin 1 (IL-1) gene family includes three members (IL-1-alpha, IL-1-beta and IL-1Ra) that mediate immune and inflammatory responses through two specific cell surface receptors. Cytosine to thymine transitions at codons -889 and -511 in the IL-1-alpha and IL-1-beta genes, respectively, and an 86-base pair repeat in the IL-1Ra are believed to influence gene transcription. We have genotyped these three polymorphisms in 90 donor/recipient pairs undergoing unrelated donor bone marrow transplantation (BMT) at the University of Minnesota. We found no association between the occurrence of acute GVHD and donor and/or recipient polymorphisms of any of the three IL-1 genes. The presence of at least one IL-1alpha- 889 T allele in the donor was associated with significantly improved survival in univariate analysis (survival at 1 year 40% C/C donor, 68% T/C donor, 75% T/T donor, P < 0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed that if the donor and recipient each possessed the IL-1alpha T allele there was significantly improved survival [relative risk (RR) 0.2, P < 0.01] and decreased treatment-related mortality (TRM; RR 0.2, P = 0.01). The presence of the IL-1beta T allele in donor and recipient was also associated with improved survival (RR 0.2, P < 0.01) and decreased TRM (RR 0.1, P < 0.01). These data suggest that donor polymorphism in IL-1alpha and IL-1beta might influence survival after unrelated donor BMT, but does not alter risk of GVHD.
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PMID:Interleukin-1 genotype and outcome of unrelated donor bone marrow transplantation. 1275 1

Donor T lymphocytes genetically engineered to express a "suicide gene" to facilitate negative selection represent a promising strategy for the management of graft-versus-host disease occurring after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). For this purpose, the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) gene, although well studied, has limitations. Cytosine deaminase (CD), an alternative gene for negative selection, converts 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) to the toxic metabolite 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Sensitivity of cells to 5-FU can be further increased by expression of uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (UPRT), which catalyzes the conversion of 5-FU to 5-fluorouridine monophosphate. By using a chimeric gene (NG/CD) expressing the truncated human nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR) for positive selection fused to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae CD gene, we investigated strategies to achieve optimal T cell eradication by CD and UPRT expression, utilizing a single retroviral vector. Three vector strategies were compared on the basis of NGFR expression by flow cytometry, western analysis, and enzymatic activity. A construct (NG/CDiU) expressing UPRT and NG/CD, using a bicistronic message, provided the greatest UPRT activity and killing, reducing the lethal dose of 5-FC sufficient to eradicate 90% of cells from 38.7 microg/ml (300 microM) (NG/CD expression alone) to 0.13 microg/ml (1 microM). This approach provides an effective alternative to the HSV-tk system for eradication of donor T lymphocytes after allogeneic HCT.
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PMID:Coexpression of the uracil phosphoribosyltransferase gene with a chimeric human nerve growth factor receptor/cytosine deaminase fusion gene, using a single retroviral vector, augments cytotoxicity of transduced human T cells exposed to 5-fluorocytosine. 1671 9

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a complication of hematopoietic cell transplantation and is a major source of morbidity and mortality. Two main forms of GVHD occur: cytotoxic GVHD (Cyt GVHD), in which TNFalpha is a critical cytokine in epithelial injury, and sclerodermatous GVHD (Scl GVHD), in which TGFbeta plays a major role in fibrosis. To understand the critical early events in GVHD and scleroderma, we are studying a murine model that uses differences in minor histocompatibility antigens to generate Scl GVHD. We asked the question: what is the immune environment in this model that promotes fibrosis rather than the epithelial injury of Cyt GVHD? We found that in Scl GVHD, cutaneous CD4+ T cells produced IFNgamma and IL-2 but not TNFalpha, also absent by gene array analysis. The role of cutaneous CD4+ T cells in Scl GVHD may not be an active process through production of TGFbeta, but may rather be a passive one due to lack of antigen-presenting cell (APC) support for CD4+ T cells and failure to produce TNFalpha, a potent inhibitor of TGFbeta-induced fibrosis as well as inducer of keratinocyte apoptosis. These APC-T cell interactions and the cytokine environment promote fibrosis rather than cytotoxic epithelial injury in skin in Scl GVHD.
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PMID:Absence of cutaneous TNFalpha-producing CD4+ T cells and TNFalpha may allow for fibrosis rather than epithelial cytotoxicity in murine sclerodermatous graft-versus-host disease, a model for human scleroderma. 1742 41

Cytosine-phosphorothioate-guanine oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG ODNs) are synthetic ODNs with unmethylated DNA sequences that mimic viral and bacterial DNA and protect against infectious agents and tumor challenge. We show that CpG ODNs markedly accelerated graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) lethality by Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) ligation of host antigen-presenting cells (APCs), dependent upon host IFNgamma but independent of host IL-12, IL-6, or natural killer (NK) cells. Imaging studies showed significantly more green fluorescent protein-positive (GFP(+)) effector T cells in lymphoid and nonlymphoid organs. In engraftment studies, CpG ODNs promoted allogeneic donor bone marrow (BM) rejection independent of host IFNgamma, IL-12, or IL-6. During the course of these studies, we uncovered a previously unknown and critical role of donor BM APCs in modulating the rejection response. CpG ODNs promoted BM rejection by ligation of donor BM, but not host, TLR9. CpG ODNs did not impair engraftment of TLR9(-/-) BM unless wild-type myeloid (CD11b(+)) but not B-lineage (CD19(+)) BM cells were added to the donor inoculum. The importance of donor BM APCs in modulating the strength of the host antidonor rejection response was underscored by the finding that B7-1/B7-2(-/-) BM was less likely than wild-type BM to be rejected. Collectively, these data offer new insight into the mechanism of alloresponses regulating GVHD and BM rejection.
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PMID:TLR agonists regulate alloresponses and uncover a critical role for donor APCs in allogeneic bone marrow rejection. 1884 Jul 23