High-content flow cytometry and temporal data analysis for defining a cellular signature of graft-versus-host disease.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is diagnosed by clinical and histologic criteria that are often nonspecific and typically apparent only after the disease is well established. Because GvHD is mediated by donor T cells and other immune effector cells, we sought to determine whether changes within a wide array of peripheral blood lymphocyte populations could predict the development of GvHD. Peripheral blood samples from 31 patients undergoing allogeneic blood and marrow transplant were analyzed for the proportion of 121 different subpopulations defined by 4-color combinations of lymphocyte phenotypic and activation markers at progressive time points posttransplant.