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

Twenty-two patients (acute myeloid leukaemia 13, acute lymphoid leukaemia 5, chronic myeloid leukaemia 4) with an average age of 25 years (range 8-36 years), had received allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) from an HLA identical sibling. The BMT recipients were followed up for a period of 4-65 months. All patients were given cyclophosphamide, total body irradiation and methotrexate in order to prevent graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). Eleven of 22 patients exhibited chronic graft versus host disease (cGvHD) (extensive in five, limited in six at the time of the study) assessed by clinical and histological parameters. Serum samples were collected from these patients, before BMT (except in one case) and then every 2 or 3 months. Sequential studies to determine the presence of autoantibodies against cytoskeletal proteins (actin, tubulin, myosin), dsDNA and dDNA in these sera were performed by an ELISA method. Simultaneously, immunoelectrophoresis and measurement of complement fractions C3, C4 were performed on each sample. High levels of autoantibodies against cytoskeletal proteins were found in 10/11 patients with cGvHD and were absent in 11/11 patients without cGvHD; none of them exhibited anti-DNA activity. At the same time, C4 levels were decreased in seven of these patients with cGvHD. Monoclonal immunoglobulins IgG and IgM (2-15 g/l) were found in 8/11, but the antibody activity was never found to be located within the M component. These results show a direct relationship between the presence of these autoantibodies and occurrence of cGvHD and indicate that they may constitute an immunological marker related to this complication. However, their predictive value is not clearly evident in this retrospective series as in some patients they preceded clinical signs of cGvHD, whereas in others they were associated with the onset of cGvHD.
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PMID:High levels of anti-cytoskeleton autoantibodies are frequently associated with chronic GVHD. 331 12

Minor histocompatibility antigen disparities between human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched bone marrow donors and recipients are a major risk factor for graft versus host disease (GVHD). An HLA-A2.1-restricted cytotoxic T cell clone that recognized the minor histocompatibility antigen HA-2 was previously isolated from a patient with severe GVHD after HLA-identical bone marrow transplantation. The HLA-A2.1-bound peptide representing HA-2 has now been identified. This peptide appears to originate from a member of the non-filament-forming class I myosin family. Because HA-2 has a phenotype frequency of 95 percent in the HLA-A2.1-positive population, it is a candidate for immunotherapeutic intervention in bone marrow transplantation.
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PMID:Identification of a graft versus host disease-associated human minor histocompatibility antigen. 753 51

Mercury (Hg) has long been recognized as a neurotoxicant; however, recent work in animal models has implicated Hg as an immunotoxicant. In particular, Hg has been shown to induce autoimmune disease in susceptible animals with effects including overproduction of specific autoantibodies and pathophysiologic signs of lupus-like disease. However, these effects are only observed at high doses of Hg that are above the levels to which humans would be exposed through contaminated fish consumption. While there is presently no evidence to suggest that Hg induces frank autoimmune disease in humans, a recent epidemiological study has demonstrated a link between occupational Hg exposure and lupus. In our studies, we have tested the hypothesis that Hg does not cause autoimmune disease directly, but rather that it may interact with triggering events, such as genetic predisposition, exposure to antigens, or infection, to exacerbate disease. Treatment of mice that are not susceptible to Hg-induced autoimmune disease with very low doses and short term exposures of inorganic Hg (20-200 microg/kg) exacerbates disease and accelerates mortality in the graft versus host disease model of chronic lupus in C57Bl/6 x DBA/2 mice. Furthermore, low dose Hg exposure increases the severity and prevalence of experimental autoimmune myocarditis (induced by immunization with cardiac myosin peptide in adjuvant) in A/J mice. To test our hypothesis further, we examined sera from Amazonian populations exposed to Hg through small-scale gold mining, with and without current or past malaria infection. We found significantly increased prevalence of antinuclear and antinucleolar antibodies and a positive interaction between Hg and malaria. These results suggest a new model for Hg immunotoxicity, as a co-factor in autoimmune disease, increasing the risks and severity of clinical disease in the presence of other triggering events, either genetic or acquired.
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PMID:Mercury and autoimmunity: implications for occupational and environmental health. 1602 90

Myocarditis is a major cause of heart failure and sudden cardiac death in young adults and adolescents. Many cases of myocarditis are associated with autoimmune processes in which cardiac myosin is a major autoantigen. Conventional immunosuppressive therapies often provide unsatisfactory results and are associated with adverse toxicities during the treatment of autoimmune myocarditis. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a nonpsychoactive constituent of marijuana that exerts antiinflammatory effects independent of classical cannabinoid receptors. Recently, 80 clinical trials have investigated the effects of CBD in various diseases from inflammatory bowel disease to graft versus host disease. CBD-based formulations are used for the management of multiple sclerosis in numerous countries, and CBD also received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the treatment of refractory childhood epilepsy and glioblastoma multiforme. Herein, using a well-established mouse model of experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) induced by immunization with cardiac myosin emmulsified in adjuvant resulting in T cell-mediated inflammation, cardiomyocyte cell death, fibrosis and myocardial dysfunction, we studied the potential beneficial effects of CBD. EAM was characterized by marked myocardial T-cell infiltration, profound inflammatory response and fibrosis (measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, histology and immunohistochemistry analyses) accompanied by marked attenuation of both systolic and diastolic cardiac functions measured with a pressure-volume conductance catheter technique. Chronic treatment with CBD largely attenuated the CD3+ and CD4+ T cell-mediated inflammatory response and injury, myocardial fibrosis and cardiac dysfunction in mice. In conclusion, CBD may represent a promising novel treatment for managing autoimmune myocarditis and possibly other autoimmune disorders and organ transplantation.
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PMID:Cannabidiol Limits T Cell-Mediated Chronic Autoimmune Myocarditis: Implications to Autoimmune Disorders and Organ Transplantation. 2677 76