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Updated: Sep 23, 2026
Intracellular Phosphoflow Cytometry of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patient-Derived Xenotransplants
Published on: June 6, 2025
Normal intrinsic Th1/Th2 balance in patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia not treated with
Alexander Kiani1, Ivonne Habermann, Knut Schäke
1Dept. of Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany. kiani@mk1.med.tu-dresden.de
Background And Objectives:
CD4+ T helper cells are an integral part of effective immune responses against various malignancies; however in tumor-bearing patients they are frequently functionally unresponsive. T helper cells of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), analyzed as part of mononuclear cell fractions, show a loss of signaling molecules, a compromised Th1 cytokine production and a shift towards a non-productive Th2 state. The underlying mechanism is unknown and may involve intrinsic T cell defects as well as indirect effects mediated by leukemia or antigen-presenting cells. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the intrinsic cytokine-producing capacity of purified CML T helper cells in the absence of other cell types.
Design And Methods:
Untouched CD4+ T cells with a purity of more than 90% were isolated from 10 patients with Ph+ chronic phase CML on maintenance treatment with hydroxyurea. The cells were isolated by density gradient centrifugation followed by immunomagnetic depletion of leukemia and accessory cells. The ex vivo cytokine-producing capacity of CML T helper cells in response to polyclonal stimulation with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 was then compared to that of cells purified from matched healthy volunteers.
Results:
T helper cells purified from CML patients produced comparable amounts of the Th1 cytokines interleukin (IL)-2 and interferon (IFN)-g as cells purified from healthy volunteers. Likewise, no difference between CML and control T helper cells was found with respect to the Th2 cytokines, IL-4 and IL-13, as well as the immunomodulatory cytokine, IL-10.
Interpretation And Conclusions:
In the absence of leukemia and accessory cells, the intrinsic cytokine-producing capacity of CML T helper cells is normal. A Th2 shift was not detected, and the predominant presence of an IL-10-producing, immunosuppressive T helper cell subset could be excluded.
