In vivo analyses of early events in acute graft-versus-host disease reveal sequential infiltration of T-cell subsets.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a major obstacle in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Given the dynamic changes in immune cell subsets and tissue organization, which occur in GVHD, localization and timing of critical immunological events in vivo may reveal basic pathogenic mechanisms. To this end, we transplanted luciferase-labeled allogeneic splenocytes and monitored tissue distribution by in vivo bioluminescence imaging.