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Foreign cells in polymyositis: Could stem cell transplantation and pregnancy-derived chimerism lead to the same disease?

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Abstract

A growing number of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation centers have reported that patients with chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD) can develop polymyositis (PM). GVHD-PM is similar to idiopathic PM in signs, symptoms, laboratory values, electromyography, radiography, and histology, suggesting that the two conditions may share a similar mechanism in pathogenesis. In chronic GVHD-PM, interactions between allogeneic donor cells and host cells lead to chronic inflammation. In idiopathic PM, the foreign cells could be partially human leukocyte antigen-matched maternal or fetal cells acquired during pregnancy. Thus, PM can be added to the list of potentially allo-autoimmune diseases in which pregnancy-derived microchimerism may play a role.

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  1. Immunogenetics Department, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, D2-100, 1100 Fairview Avenue NE, PO Box 19024, 98109, Seattle, WA, USA

    Anne M. Stevens MD, PhD

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Stevens, A.M. Foreign cells in polymyositis: Could stem cell transplantation and pregnancy-derived chimerism lead to the same disease?. Curr Rheumatol Rep 5, 437–444 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-003-0054-0

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