Antigens shared by malignant plasma cells and normal B cells may be involved in graftversusmyeloma

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Cytotoxic T cells play an important role in graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD) and graft-versus-leukaemia/myeloma, which may occur in patients treated with an allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Here, we describe the selection of a myeloma reactive CD4+ cytotoxic T cell-line (CTL) and two CD4+ clones from this CTL. The CTL was generated from the blood from a patient with multiple myeloma (MM) with graft versus myeloma/GvHD, following an ASCT. The CTL was stimulated using irradiated peripheral blood mononuclear cells and EBV transformed B cells from the myeloma patient (EBVp), both of which were obtained prior to ASCT. Both the CTL and the two T cell clones specifically lysed EBVp and secreted IFN-gamma after coculture with EBVp and autologous myeloma tumour cells in a class II restricted fashion. These results show that myeloma tumour cells and autologous B cells present a common polymorphic peptide that functions as a target for graft derived cytotoxic T cells. Identification of these proteins will give insight into the relationship between graft versus myeloma (GvM) and GvHD and may provide immunotherapeutical targets in the treatment of MM.

This publication has 55 references indexed in Scilit: