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Conditioning Regimens

Differential effect of conditioning regimens on cytokine responses during allogeneic stem cell transplantation

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 37, pages 635–640 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to characterize cytokine responses during conditioning in patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) with the aim to identify which markers that may reliably reflect inflammatory activity during conditioning. We investigated inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediators in plasma samples drawn daily during the conditioning of 20 patients. Soluble tumour necrosis factor α receptor I (sTNFRI) increased during the conditioning reflecting the type of conditioning given. Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) was the most potent inducer of sTNFRI (288% increase (median) P=0.002), followed by VP-16 (184%, P=0.03), cyclophosphamide (129%, P=0.03) and total body irradiation (148%, P=0.0005). Administration of i.v. busulfan (Busilvex; BU) was not associated with significant changes in sTNFRI levels. At day 0 (the day of stem cell infusion) the sTNFRI levels were not only elevated compared with baseline (188% increase), P<0.0001), they also correlated with the baseline values (r=0.72, P=0.0003). The levels of tumour necrosis factor, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and IL-12 stayed at low levels during the conditioning, except from a transient increase in the levels of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and IL- receptor antagonist (IL-Ra) seen after ATG infusion. These findings suggest that further investigation of circulating sTNFRI levels may be of interest in studies of prognostic factors in SCT.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by The Danish Research Council, the Danish Biotechnology Programme, The Lundbeck Foundation, The H:S Research Programme, The Dagmar Marshall Foundation, The Research Foundation for Copenhagen, Faeroe Islands and Greenland, The Frænkel Foundation, Lily Benthine Lund's Foundation. The skilled technical assistance of Marianna Thomsen and Lone Bredahl is highly appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Institute of Inflammation Research, The National University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

    J Andersen, K Bendtzen & K Müller

  2. Paediatric Clinic II, The National University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

    C Heilmann & K Müller

  3. Haematological department, The National University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

    N Jacobsen

  4. Copenhagen Blood Transfusion Center, The National University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

    C Nielsen

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  1. J Andersen
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Correspondence to K Müller.

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Andersen, J., Heilmann, C., Jacobsen, N. et al. Differential effect of conditioning regimens on cytokine responses during allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplant 37, 635–640 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1705295

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