|
|
|||||||
Stem Cell Transplantation |
1 Servizio di Virologia and
2 Divisione di Ematologia, Fondazione Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
Correspondence: Giuseppe Gerna, Servizio di Virologia, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San, Matteo, 27100 Pavia, Italy., E-mail: g.gerna{at}smatteo.pv.it
Background: Human cytomegalovirus infection is the most frequent viral complication in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. We investigated the development of human cytomegalovirus-specific T cells in adult recipients of hematopoietic stem cell transplants.
Design and Methods: From May 2003 through October 2006 a total of 45 patients were monitored for human cytomegalovirus-specific T-cell reconstitution. Human cytomegalovirus-infected autologous dendritic cells were used as a stimulus to detect interferon-
-producing human cytomegalovirus-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells during the first year after transplantation. Interleukin-2 production by specific T cells was also determined.
|
-producing T cells in response to human cytomegalovirus. Specific interleukin-2 production was not detected in patients with human cytomegalovirus infection requiring treatment, while 90% of patients who spontaneously controlled human cytomegalovirus infection had T cells that produced interleukin-2 and interferon-
.
Conclusions: Pre-transplant human cytomegalovirus infection of the recipient is a major factor driving human cytomegalovirus-specific immune reconstitution. Control of human cytomegalovirus infection likely requires the presence of both interferon-
and interleukin-2 producing T cells. Corticosteroid treatment may favor active viral replication even in patients with specific T cells.
Key words: human cytomegalovirus, specific T cells, stem cell transplantation.
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | TABLE OF CONTENTS | ARCHIVE | SUBSCRIPTIONS |