Real-time T-cell profiling identifies H60 as a major minor histocompatibility antigen in murine graft-versus-host disease

EY Choi, GJ Christianson, Y Yoshimura… - Blood, The Journal …, 2002 - ashpublications.org
EY Choi, GJ Christianson, Y Yoshimura, N Jung, TJ Sproule, S Malarkannan, S Joyce
Blood, The Journal of the American Society of Hematology, 2002ashpublications.org
Although CD8 T cells are thought to be a principal effector population of graft-versus-host
disease (GVHD), their dynamics and specificity remain a mystery. Using a mouse model in
which donor and recipient were incompatible at many minor histocompatibility antigens
(minor H Ags), the CD8 T-cell response was tracked temporally and spatially through the
course of GVHD. Donor CD8 T cells in the circulation, spleen, lung, and liver demonstrated
virtually identical kinetics: rapid expansion and then decline prior to morbidity. Remarkably …
Although CD8 T cells are thought to be a principal effector population of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), their dynamics and specificity remain a mystery. Using a mouse model in which donor and recipient were incompatible at many minor histocompatibility antigens (minor H Ags), the CD8 T-cell response was tracked temporally and spatially through the course of GVHD. Donor CD8 T cells in the circulation, spleen, lung, and liver demonstrated virtually identical kinetics: rapid expansion and then decline prior to morbidity. Remarkably, up to one fourth of the CD8 T cells were directed against a single minor antigen, H60. Extreme H60 immunodominance occurred regardless of sampling time, site, and genetic background. This study is the first to analyze the T cells participating in GVHD in “real-time,” demonstrates the exceptional degree to which immunodominance of H60 can occur, and suggests that such superdominant minor H Ags could be risk factors for GVHD.
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