Rockefeller University Press, Journal of Experimental Medicine, 5(206), p. 1203-1203, 2009
DOI: 10.1084/jem.20070723041509c
Rockefeller University Press, Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2(206), p. 387-398, 2009
DOI: 10.1084/jem.20070723
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Allogeneic (allo) hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is an effective therapy for hematological malignancies but it is limited by acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Dendritic cells (DC) play a major role in the allo T cell stimulation causing GVHD. Current immunosuppressive measures to control GVHD target T cells but compromise posttransplant immunity in the patient, particularly to cytomegalovirus (CMV) and residual malignant cells. We showed that treatment of allo mixed lymphocyte cultures with activated human DC-depleting CD83 antibody suppressed alloproliferation but preserved T cell numbers, including those specific for CMV. We also tested CD83 antibody in the human T cell-dependent peripheral blood mononuclear cell transplanted SCID (hu-SCID) mouse model of GVHD. We showed that this model requires human DC and that CD83 antibody treatment prevented GVHD but, unlike conventional immunosuppressants, did not prevent engraftment of human T cells, including cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) responsive to viruses and malignant cells. Immunization of CD83 antibody-treated hu-SCID mice with irradiated human leukemic cell lines induced allo antileukemic CTL effectors in vivo that lysed (51)Cr-labeled leukemic target cells in vitro without further stimulation. Antibodies that target activated DC are a promising new therapeutic approach to the control of GVHD.