Is graft-versus-host disease a reliable model for scleroderma?

There are both similarities and differences between chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and scleroderma. The similarities include chronic fibrosis, immunological (autoimmune) abnormalities and perhaps mast cell involvement. The differences include the type of collagen laid down and its precise location, and the distribution of organ involvement. However, a common thread appears to be an immunologically-mediated fibrotic process, involving T cells, fibroblasts and perhaps mast cells. For this reason, we believe that important insights for scleroderma will come from the study of GVHD, in spite of the differences between the two syndromes. Indeed, it would not be expected that GVHD and scleroderma would be identical.