Influence of cytomegalovirus infection on the recovery of humoral immunity after autologous bone marrow transplantation.

Recovery of B-cell number and function was studied in 23 patients with hematological malignancies treated with high-dose chemoradiotherapy followed by autologous bone marrow transplantation (auto-BMT) in relation to the presence or absence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. B cells recovered rapidly after auto-BMT and specific antibodies to herpes viruses remained nearly unchanged. Both were independent of the CMV status of the patients. However, the capacity of peripheral blood B cells to differentiate in vitro into cytoplasmic immunoglobulin (Ig)-positive cells (plasma cells) on pokeweed mitogen stimulation in the presence of normal T-cell help was significantly better in CMV-negative patients than in CMV-positive patients after auto-BMT, but was decreased in both groups. Serum Ig levels were, in contrast, higher in CMV-positive patients than in CMV-negative patients after auto-BMT.