The central nervous system is a target of acute graft versus host disease in mice

S Hartrampf, JA Dudakov, LK Johnson… - Blood, The Journal …, 2013 - ashpublications.org
S Hartrampf, JA Dudakov, LK Johnson, OM Smith, J Tsai, NV Singer, ML West, AM Hanash
Blood, The Journal of the American Society of Hematology, 2013ashpublications.org
Despite significant advances in prevention and management, graft versus host disease
(GVHD) is still a leading complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation (allo-HSCT). Although skin, gut, liver, thymus, and lung are GVHD targets,
neurological complications (NC) have also been reported following allo-HSCT. We
demonstrate that the central nervous system (CNS) can be a direct target of alloreactive T
cells following allo-HSCT in mice. We found significant infiltration of the CNS with donor T …
Abstract
Despite significant advances in prevention and management, graft versus host disease (GVHD) is still a leading complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Although skin, gut, liver, thymus, and lung are GVHD targets, neurological complications (NC) have also been reported following allo-HSCT. We demonstrate that the central nervous system (CNS) can be a direct target of alloreactive T cells following allo-HSCT in mice. We found significant infiltration of the CNS with donor T lymphocytes and cell death of neurons and neuroglia in allo-HSCT recipients with GVHD. We also found that allo-HSCT recipients with GVHD had deficits in spatial learning/memory and demonstrated increased anxious behavior. These findings highlight CNS sensitivity to damage caused by alloreactive donor T cells and represent the first characterization of target cell subsets and NC during GVHD. Therefore, these clinically relevant studies offer a novel and rational explanation for the well-described neurological symptoms observed after allo-HSCT.
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