Characterization of the gammadelta T cell response to acute leukemia.

Background: Previous work from our center has suggested a correlation between increased donor-derived Vdelta1+ gammadelta T cells and long-term relapse-free survival following bone marrow transplantation for leukemia. Questions remain, however, as to whether this observation can be explained by a gammadelta T cell-based immune response against primary leukemia.

Methods: We examined gammadelta T cell receptor (TCR) phenotype, cell proliferation, and cytolytic activity following culture with irradiated primary leukemia blasts from a haploidentical first-degree relative.