The phenotype and reconstitution of immunoregulatory T cell subsets after T cell-depleted allogeneic and autologous bone marrow transplantation.

In the present study, we examined changes in the expression of CD45RA, CD31, and CD29 on total CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes in patients who had received CD6 T cell-depleted allogeneic marrow and received no immune suppressive drugs after engraftment in order to identify defects in reconstitution of immunoregulatory T cells after allogeneic BMT. Results following allo-BMT were compared with normal controls and patients following autologous BMT. We showed that CD4+CD45RA+, CD4+CD29+ (CD29high), and CD4+CD31+ cells were markedly decreased during the first 24 months after allo- and auto-BMT. CD8+CD45RA+ cells recovered to normal levels within the first month after auto-BMT, while after allo-BMT, the CD8+CD45RA+ cells were at slightly low levels during the first month, but gradually increased to normal levels by 12 months post-BMT. CD8+CD29+ cells were increased during the first 12 months both after allo- and auto-BMT although during the first month, a decreased percentage of CD8+CD29+ cells was observed in allo-BMT patients. More important, CD4+CD29+, CD8+CD29+, and CD8+S6F1+ cells were significantly increased in patients with moderate-to-severe acute GVHD (grades II-IV) compared with those with or without mild acute GVHD (grade I), suggesting that CD4 helper-inducer (CD4+CD29high) and CD8 killer-effector (CD8+CD29highS6F1+) cells play an important role in the pathophysiology of acute GVHD.