ICSBP Gene Deficient Mice Are Highly Susceptible to the Development of Graft-versus-Host Disease (GVHD) Following Administration of Delayed Donor Lymphocyte Infusions (DLI).

Delayed administration of DLI to mixed hematopoietic chimeras following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (alloBMT) leads to conversion from mixed to full donor chimerism without GVHD. However, in the clinical setting development of GVHD is still the most common complication. Donor T cells are the main mediators of GVHD in alloBMT. However, the precise role of host dendritic cells (DC) and their different subsets needs still to be elucidated. CD8a+ DCs seem to have a regulatory function and to reduce experimental GVHD. Recently, it has been shown that the ICSBP (Interferon Consensus Sequence Binding Protein) gene is essential for the development and activation of CD8a+ DCs. ICSBP-gene deficient mice (ICSBP KO) are characterized by several immune defects and systemic expansion of myeloid cells mimicking human CML and may be therefore an attractive in vivo model to evaluate the role of DCs in alloBMT. The aim of the study was to evaluate the 1. feasibility of inducing mixed hematopoietic chimerism following nonmyeloablative conditioning in ICSBP KO mice using fully MHC-mismatched BMT (Balb/c [H2Dd] to B6 x 129 [H2b]), and 2. susceptibility of ICSBP KO mice to the development of GVHD following administration of DLI. Nonmyeloablative conditioning consisted of in-vivo T cell depletion (anti-CD4-[GK1.5], anti-CD8-[2,43] mAb, d-5), fludarabine (30 mg/kg, d-4 to d-2), cyclophosphamid (200 mg/kg, d-1) and 3 Gy TBI (d0) followed by i.v. injection of 1,5 x 10E7 Balb/c bone marrow cells. Stable mixed chimerism was observed in ICSBP wildtype (wt) mice through week 35 post-BMT without signs of clinical GVHD. In contrast, we observed increasing donor CD4 and CD8 T cell chimerism over time in ICSBP KO mice suggesting a lack of donor T cell tolerance. Furthermore, chimerism was higher in granulocyte, B cells and monocyte compared to ICSBP wt mice. In a second experiment we were able to observe spontaneous conversion to full donor hematopoietic chimerism in 2 of 9 mice after nonmyeloablative BMT. In two separate experiments ICSBP wt or KO mice with mixed chimerism received (DLI) on day 35 post BMT. After injection of DLI all wt mice (n = 10) showed a rapid conversion to full donor chimerism and remained healthy until the end of the observation period without signs of GVHD. Despite myeloid hyperproliferation all ICSBP KO mice showed conversion to full donor chimerism. Furthermore, in ICSBP KO mice conversion to full donor chimerism was associated with development of severe GVHD (n = 9). In vitro studies using mixed lymphocyte reactions showed that splenic stimulator cells from ICSBP KO mice had a higher stimulatory capacity compared to wt stimulators (SI 1,5 versus 2,3). Using the same mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) conditions, supernatants collected from BALB/c responders with ICSBP KO stimulators had higher levels of TNF-alpha and IFN-g compared to MLC using ICSBP wt stimulators. In conclusion, following alloBMT a defective development of host-specific tolerance and high susceptibility for GVHD in ICSBP KO mice is suggested. Further studies are warranted to delineate the precise underlying mechanism by addressing the potential contribution of defective regulatory host T cells and the lack of host CD8a+ DCs in ICSBP KO mice.