Contribution of B7RP-1/ICOS co-stimulation to lethal acute GVHD

Co-stimulatory molecules expressed on T cells critically regulate donor T-cell activation and are implicated in acute GVHD after allogeneic BMT. We here investigated the role of interaction between B7-related protein-1 (B7RP-1) and ICOS in murine acute GVHD model that received T cell-depleted BM cells and splenocytes. Administration of blocking anti-B7RP-1 mAb significantly reduced the lethality and symptoms in acute GVHD. A significant hypo-responsiveness of splenocytes to host alloantigen was observed in the recipient mice treated with anti-B7RP-1 mAb. Moreover, acute GVHD was significantly reduced in the recipients of T cells composed of ICOS-deficient CD8 T cells and WT CD4 T cells compared with that in the recipients of T cells composed of WT CD8 T cells and ICOS-deficient CD4 T cells. These results suggested that B7RP-1/ICOS co-stimulatory signal plays a role in the activation of alloantigen-reactive donor T cells, particularly in CD8 T cells, in murine acute GVHD model, and that the blockade of B7RP-1/ICOS interaction may be useful for selectively manipulating allo-reactive T cells in the recipients with acute GVHD.