Immune Recovery after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Following Flu-TBI versus TLI-ATG Conditioning.

Purpose: A conditioning regimen for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) combining total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) plus anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) has been developed to induce graft-versus-tumor effects without graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).

Experimental Design: We compared immune recovery in 53 patients included in a phase II randomized study comparing nonmyeloablative HCT following either fludarabine plus 2 Gy total body irradiation (TBI arm, n = 28) or 8 Gy TLI plus ATG (TLI arm, n = 25).

Results: In comparison with TBI patients, TLI patients had a similarly low 6-month incidence of grade II-IV acute GVHD, a lower incidence of moderate/severe chronic GVHD (P = 0.

Comprehensive plasma profiling for the characterization of graft-versus-host disease biomarkers.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) remains a life-threatening complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) therefore limiting its application. To optimize the management of aGVHD and reduce therapy-related toxicity, early specific markers are needed. The main objective of this study was to uncover diagnostic biomarkers by comparing plasma protein profiles of patients at the time of acute GVHD diagnosis with those of patients undergoing HSCT without aGVHD.

Kinetics of IL-7 and IL-15 levels after allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation following nonmyeloablative conditioning.

Background: We analysed kinetics of IL-7 and IL-15 levels in 70 patients given peripheral blood stem cells after nonmyeloablative conditioning.

Methods: EDTA-anticoagulated plasma and serum samples were obtained before conditioning and about once per week after transplantation until day 100. Samples were aliquoted and stored at -80°C within 3 hours after collection until measurement of cytokines.

Challenges for biomarker discovery in body fluids using SELDI-TOF-MS.

Protein profiling using SELDI-TOF-MS has gained over the past few years an increasing interest in the field of biomarker discovery. The technology presents great potential if some parameters, such as sample handling, SELDI settings, and data analysis, are strictly controlled. Practical considerations to set up a robust and sensitive strategy for biomarker discovery are presented.