Abstract
High-dose chemotherapy with autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (AHSCT) causes severe and long-lasting immunodeficiency in patients with lymphoproliferative disorders. The thymus begins to restore the T-cell repertoire approximately from the sixth month post-transplant. We assessed the dynamics of post-transplant recovery of CD4+CD45RA+CD31+ T cells, “recent thymic emigrants” (RTEs), and a poorly described subtype of CD4+CD45RA−CD31+ T cells in 90 patients with lymphoproliferative disorders following high-dose chemotherapy with AHSCT. Relative and absolute counts of CD4+CD31+ naïve and memory T cells were evaluated before AHSCT, at the day of engraftment, and 6- and 12-month post-transplant. The pre-transplant count of CD4+CD45RA+CD31+ T cells was lower than in healthy controls, and did not reach donors’ values during the 12-month period. The pre-transplant number of CD4+CD45RA–CD31+ T cells was higher than in healthy controls and was restored rapidly following AHSCT. Post-transplant mediastinal radiotherapy reduced counts of RTEs and elongated recovery period. Non-thymic tissue irradiation did not reduce this subset. The obtained data indicate that homeostatic proliferation may decrease the significance of CD31 expression on CD4+CD45RA+ T cells as a marker of RTEs, and suggest that evaluation of RTEs recovery by flow cytometry requires an accurate gating strategy to exclude CD31+ memory T cells.
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We are very grateful to the patients in the current study. The authors would like to thank the nurses at our institution.
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Batorov, E.V., Tikhonova, M.A., Kryuchkova, I.V. et al. CD4+ memory T cells retain surface expression of CD31 independently of thymic function in patients with lymphoproliferative disorders following autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. Int J Hematol 106, 108–115 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-017-2214-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-017-2214-4