Immunomodulation Induced by Stem Cell Mobilization and Harvesting in Healthy Donors: Increased Systemic Osteopontin Levels after Treatment with Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 17; no. 7; p. 1158
• Main Authors: Melve, Guro Kristin, Ersvaer, Elisabeth, Akkök, Çiğdem Akalın, Ahmed, Aymen Bushra, Kristoffersen, Einar K, Hervig, Tor, Bruserud, Øystein
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 19-07-2016; MDPI
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; allogeneic transplantation; apheresis; Blood & organ donations; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Cells, Cultured; Drug therapy; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Flow Cytometry; granulocyte colony-stimulating factor; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor - pharmacology; Granulocytes; Health; Healthy Volunteers; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization; Humans; Immunology; Immunomodulation - drug effects; Male; Middle Aged; osteopontin; Osteopontin - metabolism; Osteoporosis; Stem cells; Stem Cells - drug effects; Stem Cells - immunology; Stem Cells - metabolism; Tissue Donors; hematopoietic stem cell mobilization; allogeneic transplantation; granulocyte colony-stimulating factor; osteopontin; apheresis
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms17071158

Peripheral blood stem cells from healthy donors mobilized by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and harvested by leukapheresis are commonly used for allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The frequency of severe graft versus host disease is similar for patients receiving peripheral blood and bone marrow allografts, even though the blood grafts contain more T cells, indicating mobilization-related immunoregulatory effects. The regulatory phosphoprotein osteopontin was quantified in plasma samples from healthy donors before G-CSF treatment, after four days of treatment immediately before and after leukapheresis, and 18-24 h after apheresis. Myeloma patients received chemotherapy, combined with G-CSF, for stem cell mobilization and plasma samples were prepared immediately before, immediately after, and 18-24 h after leukapheresis. G-CSF treatment of healthy stem cell donors increased plasma osteopontin levels, and a further increase was seen immediately after leukapheresis. The pre-apheresis levels were also increased in myeloma patients compared to healthy individuals. Finally, in vivo G-CSF exposure did not alter T cell expression of osteopontin ligand CD44, and in vitro osteopontin exposure induced only small increases in anti-CD3- and anti-CD28-stimulated T cell proliferation. G-CSF treatment, followed by leukapheresis, can increase systemic osteopontin levels, and this effect may contribute to the immunomodulatory effects of G-CSF treatment.