Dissecting graft-versus-leukemia from graft-versus-host-disease using novel strategies

Graft-versus-host disease and graft-versus-leukemia.

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) remains the treatment of choice for a number of malignant conditions. Much of the therapeutic potential of this procedure for these diseases relates to the graft-versusleukemia (GVL) effect, which eradicates host malignancy after BMT and is mediated by donor T and natural killer (NK) cells (1). GVL effects are closely associated, however, with graft-...

Graft-versus-host disease or graft-versus-host-like syndrome.

Keratinocyte growth factor separates graft-versus-leukemia effects from graft-versus-host disease.

The major obstacles to successful outcome after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for leukemia remain graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and leukemic relapse. Improved survival after BMT therefore requires more effective GVHD prophylaxis that does not impair graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effects. We studied the administration of human recombinant keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) in a wel...

Can graft-versus-leukemia reactivity be dissociated from graft-versus-host disease?

Dissociation of graft-versus-leukemia (GvL). effects from graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is the ultimate goal of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) in the treatment of hematological malignancies. The pivotal role of donor T cells in both anti-leukemic and anti-host reactivity of allogeneic stem cell grafts has been known since the first transplants for fatal leukemi...

IL-11 separates graft-versus-leukemia effects from graft-versus-host disease after bone marrow transplantation.

We recently showed that IL-11 prevents lethal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in a murine bone marrow transplantation (BMT) model of GVHD directed against MHC and minor antigens. In this study, we have investigated whether IL-11 can maintain a graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect. Lethally irradiated B6D2F1 mice were transplanted with either T cell-depleted (TCD) bone marrow (BM) alone or with B...