Cytotoxic T-cell capacity after autologous bone marrow transplantation.

A total of 19 patients, treated for aggressive tumors with high-dose chemo/radiotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation (BMT), were studied for concanavalin-A (Con A)-induced proliferation and Con-A-induced cytotoxicity. Ten patients with cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibodies before BMT showed increased Con-A-induced cytotoxicity before and from 100 days after BMT, while Con-A-induced proliferation decreased to less than 10% of control values after BMT and remained so. Nine CMV-negative patients showed normal cytotoxic capacity before and after BMT, while Con-A-induced proliferation recovered slowly from day +30 after BMT. Con-A-induced cytotoxicity was not significantly different between CMV-positive and CMV-negative patients, while Con-A-induced proliferation showed significant differences from day +100 onward.