CCR6 regulates CD4+ T-cell–mediated acute graft-versus-host disease responses

R Varona, V Cadenas, L Gómez, C Martínez-A… - Blood, 2005 - ashpublications.org
R Varona, V Cadenas, L Gómez, C Martínez-A, G Márquez
Blood, 2005ashpublications.org
We studied the role of chemokine receptor CCR6 in acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD),
a pathology in which activated, host antigen-specific donor T cells selectively damage
tissues such as skin, liver, and gut. GvHD incidence was reduced in major histocompatibility
complex (MHC) class II–mismatched recipients of CD4+ T cells from CCR6-deficient donors.
In MHC-matched/minor histocompatibility antigen–mismatched recipients of CD4+
CD45RBhigh T cells from CCR6-deficient donors, infiltration of CD45+ and CD4+ cells to …
We studied the role of chemokine receptor CCR6 in acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a pathology in which activated, host antigen-specific donor T cells selectively damage tissues such as skin, liver, and gut. GvHD incidence was reduced in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II–mismatched recipients of CD4+ T cells from CCR6-deficient donors. In MHC-matched/minor histocompatibility antigen–mismatched recipients of CD4+CD45RBhigh T cells from CCR6-deficient donors, infiltration of CD45+ and CD4+ cells to skin and gut, as well as lesion onset, were significantly delayed, and pathologic symptoms were milder. Consistent with this, in skin and gut of recipients of naive T cells from CCR6-deficient donors we observed lower levels of interferon γ (IFN-γ), interleukin 10 (IL-10), and the chemokines that control activated T-cell homing. We suggest a role for CCR6 in recruiting alloreactive CD4+ T cells to target tissues and identify CCR6 as a potential therapeutic target for GvHD.
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