A clinical trial combining donor bone marrow infusion and heart transplantation: intermediate-term results

Donor chimerism (the presence of donor cells of bone marrow origin) is present for years after transplantation in recipients of solid organs. In lung recipients, chimerism is associated with a lower incidence of chronic rejection. To augment donor chimerism with the aim to enhance graft acceptance and to reduce immunosuppression, we initiated a trial combining infusion of donor bone marrow with heart transplantation. Reported herein are the intermediate-term results of this ongoing trial.

Between September 1993 and August 1998, 28 patients received concurrent heart transplantation and infusion of donor bone marrow at 3.0 x 10(8) cells/kg (study group). Twenty-four contemporaneous heart recipients who did not receive bone marrow served as controls. All patients received an immunosuppressive regimen consisting of tacrolimus and steroids.

Patient survival was similar between the study and control groups (86% and 87% at 3 years, respectively). However, the proportion of patients free from grade 3A rejection was higher in the study group (64% at 6 months) than in the control group (40%; P =.03). The prevalence of coronary artery disease was similar between the two groups (freedom from disease at 3 years was 78% in study patients and 69% in controls). Similar proportions of study (18%) and control (15%) patients exhibited in vitro evidence of donor-specific hyporesponsiveness.

The infusion of donor bone marrow reduces the rate of acute rejection in heart recipients. Donor bone marrow may play an important role in strategies aiming to enhance the graft acceptance.