The MHC influences acute graft versus host disease in MHC matched adults undergoing allogeneic bone marrow transplantation
Smyth, L.A.; Witt, C.S.; Christiansen, F.T.; Herrmann, R.P.; Hollingsworth, P.N.; Townend, D.C.; Edward, E.; Dawkins, R.L.
Bone Marrow Transplantation 12(4): 351-355
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0268-3369 PMID: 8275034 Document Number: 417595
To determine whether the MHC plays an antigen non-specific role in the development of acute GVHD, the prevalence of acute GVHD in relation to MHC genotype was examined in 51 adult patients undergoing allogeneic BM grafting. The majority of patients received grafts from HLA-identical siblings. HLA-B7 haplotypes were associated with a decreased risk of acute GVHD (2 of 15, p = 0.005) whereas HLA-B44 haplotypes were associated with a higher risk of acute GVHD (11 of 14, p = 0.02). As these alleles have been reported previously as having opposite effects in relation to inflammatory mediators, these findings may have important implications with respect to donor selection and patient management.