The Relationship Between Some Cytokines and Graft Versus Host Disease after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Thalassemia Major Patients

Background: Research has shown that the relationship between cytokines and graft versus host disease is close, but there are still a lot of cytokines and graft versus host disease relationships which are not clear. At the same time, thalassemia patients with graft versus host disease may exist in particularity.

Objects: To investigate the relationship between some cytokines and graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in β-thalassemia major patients.

Methods: The study included 16 patients who developed graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after receiving hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the Department of Pediatrics in Nanfang Hospital between the time period of 2011 July to 2015 March. We observed the dynamic variation of interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8(IL-8), interleukin 12(IL-12), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF- α) and macrophage migration inhibitory factor(MIF) in 16 patients before onset of GVHD, when GVHD occurred, at fourth and seventh day after onset of GVHD, and when GVHD almost disappeared.

Results: There was a significant difference in serum levels of interleukin-6, interleukin-12, tumor necrosis factor-α, macrophage migration inhibitory factor at different times. The highest levels of different cytokines appeared when GVHD occurred, followed by those at seventh day after it occurred. There was also a significant difference in serum levels of interleukin-8 at different times, and the highest level appeared at fourth day after GVHD occurred. There is a significant positive correlation between IL-6 and IL-12,IL-12 and TNF-α,IL-12 and MIF,TNF- α and MIF when GVHD occurred. There is a significant positive correlation between IL-12 and TNF-α when GVHD occurred and on the fourth day . There is a significant positive correlation between IL-12 and TNF-α,IL-12 and MIF,TNF-α and MIF when GVHD appeared on the seventh day. There is a significant positive correlation between IL-6 and IL-12,IL-12 and TNF-α,IL-12 and MIF,TNF-α and MIF when GVHD almost disappeared.

Conclusion: The dynamic expression of IL-6,IL-8,IL-12,TNF-α and MIF can estimate the immune function of β-thalassemia major patients who develops graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and can be used as the immunobiology indicators for the early diagnosis of graft-versus-host disease. IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, TNF-α and MIF may have correlation with each other in different time of graft versus host disease.