A preliminary gene expression profile of acute graft-versus-host disease

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the treatment of choice for high-risk hematological malignancies, yet a major complication associated with this therapy is acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Despite a well-defined pathophysiological mechanism, there are no definitive markers for predicting acute GVHD development or progression to advanced stages. In the current study, we enrolled four acute GVHD and four acute GVHD-free recipients of allogeneic HSCT and collected peripheral blood just prior to onset of clinical acute GVHD for analysis on Affymetrix GeneChip Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 microarrays. We noted significant differences in expression of 1,658 genes between control and acute GVHD patients, based on an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) by type of transplant, a pooled error estimate, and a false discovery rate (FDR) of 10%. In conclusion, we offer the first report of a preliminary molecular signature of acute GVHD in allogeneic HSCT patients.