Background: Autologous graft-versus-host disease is inducible after autologous bone marrow transplantation by means of administration of cyclosporine.
Objective: This study was performed to investigate the inducibility of autologous graft-versus-host disease after transplantation of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs).
Methods: Two patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in remission underwent PBSC transplantation followed by administration of cyclosporine and low-dose interferon-gamma.
Results: Although autologous graft-versus-host disease did not develop in either patient, T lymphocytes with cytotoxic activity against autologous lymphocytes appeared transiently in the early posttransplant period. Such autocytotoxic lymphocytes were not detectable in another patient who underwent PBSC transplantation who did not receive cyclosporine and interferon-gamma. When CD4+ and CD8+ cells were sorted from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of one of the two patients and tested for cytotoxicity against autologous lymphocytes, only CD8+ cells exhibited cytotoxic activity.
Conclusions: The results indicate that administration of cyclosporine and interferon-gamma after PBSC transplantation can induce autocytotoxic CD8+ T cells, even though it may not produce autologous graft-versus-host disease. It is unclear whether induction of such autocytotoxic T cells among patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who undergo PBSC transplantation has any antilymphoma effect.