Assessment of cellular response to mitogens in long-term allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation survivors

• Published in: International journal of hematology Vol. 114; no. 6; pp. 682 - 690
• Main Authors: Sato, Takahiko, Goto, Miyo, Ohbiki, Marie, Goto, Tatsunori, Morishita, Takanobu, Seto, Aika, Ozawa, Yukiyasu, Miyamura, Koichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Singapore 01-12-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Cell death; Concanavalin A; Disease prevention; Graft vs Host Disease - diagnosis; Graft vs Host Disease - etiology; Hematology; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; Hematopoietic stem cells; Humans; Immune reconstitution; Immune response; Immunity, Cellular; Immunization; Infections; Leukocyte Count; Lymphocyte Activation - immunology; Markers; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mitogens; Mitogens - immunology; Oncology; Original Article; Prophylaxis; Prospective Studies; Risk analysis; Risk factors; Severity of Illness Index; Stem cell transplantation; Stem cells; Survival; Survivors; Transplantation; Transplantation Immunology; Transplantation, Homologous; Vaccination; Allogeneic HSCT; Long-term follow-up; Mitogen stimulation test
• ISSN: 0925-5710; 1865-3774
• DOI: 10.1007/s12185-021-03206-7

Infection is one of the major causes of death in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) survivors. Precise assessments of immune function after HSCT will be critical in establishing appropriate treatment and prophylaxis, such as re-vaccination. Although several surrogate markers for prediction of clinical outcomes after HSCT have been proposed, definitive markers of immune reconstitution and data on those markers in long-term survivors are lacking. In this study, cellular response to mitogens was assessed and clinical features associated with a poor response to mitogens were investigated in long-term allogeneic HSCT survivors. Age at transplantation and age at the time of mitogen stimulation test were each identified as significant risk factors for poor response to phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A, respectively (
P
 < 0.001 each). However, time elapsed since transplantation was not found to be correlated with responsiveness to mitogens in this study. Prospective, in-depth studies on immune reconstitution are needed to establish appropriate prophylaxis against infections after HSCT and a schedule for re-vaccination.