Wendelbo Øystein, Nesthus Ingerid, Sjo Malvin, Ernst Peter, Bruserud Øystein
Department of Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, N-5021 Bergen, Norway.
Leuk Res. 2004 May;28(5):461-8. doi: 10.1016/j.leukres.2003.09.007.
Proliferative T cell responses were compared for two patient groups with severe treatment-induced leukopenia (white blood cell counts < 0.5 x 10(9)/l): (i). multiple myeloma patients receiving high-dose melphalan and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation; (ii). patients receiving conventional intensive chemotherapy for acute leukemia or myelodysplasia. Although the majority of circulating leukocytes were CD2(+)TCRalphabeta(+) in both groups, the myeloma patients showed significantly lower T cell proliferation in responses to several activation signals (anti-CD3, anti-CD3 + IL2, anti-CD3 + anti-CD28, anti-CD3 + anti-CD28+IL2. Our results suggest that myeloma patients with post-transplant cytopenia have a more severe cellular immune defect than patients with other hematological malignancies and severe cytopenia due to conventional intensive chemotherapy.
