Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is an inherited disorder of beta-globin, resulting in red blood cell rigidity, anemia, painful crises, organ infarctions, and reduced life expectancy. Allogeneic blood or marrow transplantation (BMT) can cure SCA but is associated with an 8% to 10% mortality rate, primarily from complications of marrow-ablative conditioning. Transplantation of allogeneic marrow after le...

Mixed hematopoietic chimerism provides a powerful means of inducing robust, donor-specific tolerance. In this article, the minimal requirements for achieving mixed chimerism, the development of new reagents that promote its achievement, and the mechanisms by which peripheral and intrathymic tolerance are achieved via mixed chimerism are discussed. An emerging understanding of these mechanisms, ...

The phenomenon of chimerism is reviewed against an understanding of adaptive immunity in vertebrates. It is shown that chimerism can be regarded as a ubiquitous condition and this suggests that monophylesis has played little part in evolution. It is suggested that the adaptive immune response has a special role in facilitating the development of chimerism and that the consensus view of adaptive...

Introduction. Poor graft function is one of the most severe complications after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which manifests as pancytopenia/cytopenia in blood count, with presence complete or incomplete donor chimerism. There are three entities weakness: 1. poor function: pancytopenia chimerism, 2. failure: incomplete, i.e., mixed chimerism and 3. rejection: progressive ...

which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. What should we consider in mixed chimerism after hemato-poietic stem cell transplanta-tion? TO THE EDITOR: Mixed chimerism (MC) was initially thought to indicate impending relapse; however, it has become clear that it is an important parameter for estimating...

Recent studies have demonstrated an integration of recipient-derived progenitor cells into solid allografts with differentiation into parenchymal cells. Whether or to what extent this phenomenon influences allograft outcome has still to be elucidated. To detect epithelial chimerism tubular cells were harvested from sequential renal allograft biopsy samples by laser microdissection in 36 patient...

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the curative option for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome; however, it requires a long post-transplantation follow-up. A 53-year-old woman with a diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome underwent related donor allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in July 2006. Three months after transplantation, a comparative short tandem repeat analys...

The formation of viable genetic chimeras in mammals through the transfer of cells between siblings in utero is rare. Using microsatellite DNA markers, we show here that chimerism in marmoset (Callithrix kuhlii) twins is not limited to blood-derived hematopoietic tissues as was previously described. All somatic tissue types sampled were found to be chimeric. Notably, chimerism was demonstrated t...

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is curative for certain cancers, but the high doses of chemotherapy/radiotherapy lead to toxicity. Here, we treat patients with refractory cancer with 100 cGy total body irradiation (TBI) followed by infusion of nonmobilized pheresed allogeneic peripheral blood cells. Twenty-five patients, with a median age of 47 years, with refractory cancers were enrolled....

The utility of routine chimerism analysis as a prognostic indicator of subsequent outcomes after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) with myeloablative conditioning regimens remains controversial. To address this controversy, routine chimerism test results at 2 to 6 months after HCT with myeloablative conditioning regimens were evaluated for association with subsequent risk of c...