Researchers have identified that a certain immune cell can change characteristics after a stem cell transplant, contributing to graft versus host disease (GvHD).
Type II innate lymphoid cells (ILC2) often fail to be generated by donor cells and seem to cause many post-transplant problems, according to the US researchers.
The study, reported in Nature Communications, involved experiments with laboratory mice but also tests on samples donated by 12 cancer patients.
The mouse studies showed that 80% of type II lymphoid cells in transplants transformed to a type I-type cell after 20 days - an “unexpected” transformation that could aggravate GvHD, the researchers from the University of North Carolina report.
One of the next steps is a clinical study to see if a specific infusion of ILC2 cells can treat GvHD. This might be improved by genetic enhancements of the cells, the researchers say.
Researcher Professor Ian Davis, chief of paediatric haematology-oncology at the university's school of medicine, said: “Our approach revealed the identity of cells in a complex transplant mix, and this knowledge could help us develop novel therapeutic strategies. We envision future therapies that, post-transplant, might direct a recovering immune system toward groups of immune cells associated with a favourable outcome.”
Study leader Professor Jonathan Serody said: “Innate type II lymphoid cells are often poorly generated once transplanted in a recipient, and the ILC2s that appear to deviate from their innate programming are the cells that cause more problems after a transplant, which is why we chose them as our focus.”
Source:
Laurie SJ, Foster JP II, Bruce DW, Bommiasamy H, Kolupaev OV, Yazdimamaghani M, Pattenden SG, Chao NJ, Sarantopoulos S, Parker JS, Davis IJ, Serody JS. (2024) “Type II innate lymphoid cell plasticity contributes to impaired reconstitution after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.” Nature Communications, 17 July 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-50263-7.
Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-50263-7
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