Acute and chronic skin graft-versus-host disease--pathophysiological aspects

Despite impressive advances in the field of allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remains a significant obstacle to overcome. Whereas our understanding of the pathophysiology of acute GVHD has greatly improved, so has our knowledge of the complexities of the immune system. Much of the immunobiology of GVHD has been gleaned from preclinical models and far less from clinical observations or biological studies in human. In this chapter, we summarize some of the major advances in GVHD pathophysiology, and the potent translation of these from the bench to the bedside.