Gene expression profile of chronic oral graft-versus-host disease

Among the complications observed after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is the primary cause of post-transplant mortality. The oral cavity is the second most affected organ target in chronic GVHD. Tissue damage results from the upregulation of inflammatory mediators, which play a critical role in the immunopathogenesis of the disease. This case series observational study aims to evaluate the participation of cytokines, chemokines, transcription factors, and heat shock proteins in the pathogenesis of oral GVHD (oGVHD), describing the mRNA expression of 28 genes selected. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from six participants with oGVHD and two without GVHD, and relative expression of transcripts with established roles as inflammatory mediators was determined in triplicate using the human RT2 Profiler™ PCR Array. The gene expression levels in the group with oGVHD were mainly up-regulated compared to those without GVHD. PBMC from oGVDH expressed consistently higher IFN-γ, TNF, IL-1β, CCL2, HSP60 (HSPD1) and HSP90 (HSP90B1). These results can provide a basis for developing new molecular diagnostics and targets therapies for the clinical management of oGVHD.