Antigen-Specific T-Lymphocyte Function After Cord Blood Transplantation

• Published in: Biology of blood and marrow transplantation Vol. 12; no. 12; pp. 1335 - 1342
• Main Authors: Cohen, Geoff, Carter, Shelly L., Weinberg, Kenneth I., Masinsin, Bernadette, Guinan, Eva, Kurtzberg, Joanne, Wagner, John E., Kernan, Nancy A., Parkman, Robertson
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.12.2006
• Subjects: Adolescent; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Antigen-specific immune function; Cell Lineage; Child; Child, Preschool; Clinical Trials, Phase II as Topic - statistics & numerical data; Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation; Cord blood transplantation; Cytomegalovirus - immunology; Cytomegalovirus - physiology; Cytomegalovirus Infections - diagnosis; Cytomegalovirus Infections - immunology; Cytomegalovirus Infections - prevention & control; Cytomegalovirus Infections - virology; False Negative Reactions; Female; Fetal Blood - immunology; Follow-Up Studies; Graft vs Host Disease - etiology; Graft vs Host Disease - immunology; Herpes Simplex - diagnosis; Herpes Simplex - immunology; Herpes Simplex - prevention & control; Herpes Simplex - virology; Herpes Zoster - diagnosis; Herpes Zoster - immunology; Herpes Zoster - prevention & control; Herpes Zoster - virology; Herpesvirus 3, Human - immunology; Herpesvirus 3, Human - physiology; Humans; Immune reconstitution; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infection - immunology; Infection - mortality; Male; Multicenter Studies as Topic - statistics & numerical data; Postoperative Complications - immunology; Postoperative Complications - mortality; Postoperative Period; Simplexvirus - immunology; Simplexvirus - physiology; T-Cell Antigen Receptor Specificity; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - immunology; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Virus Activation; Immune reconstitution; Antigen-specific immune function; Cord blood transplantation
• ISSN: 1083-8791; 1523-6536
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbmt.2006.08.036

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.