Advantageous tactics with certain probiotics for the treatment of graft-versus-host-disease after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(HSCT)becomes a standard form of cellular therapy for patients with malignant diseases.HSCT is the first-choice of immunotherapy,although HSCT can be associated with many complications such as graft-versus-host disease(GVHD)which is a major cause of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic HSCT.It has been shown that certain gut microbiota could exert protective and/or regenerative immunomodulatory effects by the production of short-chain fatty acids(SCFAs)such as butyrate in the experimental models of GVHD after allogeneic HSCT.Loss of gut commensal bacteria which can produce SCFAs may worsen dysbiosis,increasing the risk of GVHD.Expression of G-protein coupled receptors such as GPR41 seems to be upre-gulated in the presence of commensal bacteria,which might be associated with the biology of regulatory T cells(Tregs).Treg cells are a suppressive subset of CD4 positive T lymphocytes implicated in the prevention of GVHD after allogeneic HSCT.Here,we discuss the current findings of the relationship between the modification of gut microbiota and the GVHD-related immunity,which suggested that tactics with certain probiotics for the beneficial symbiosis in gut-immune axis might lead to the elevation of safety in the allogeneic HSCT.

Age-related modifications of macrophages influenced by “inflammageing”in graft vs. host disease

Most studies focus on the adaptive immune cells in the GVHD pathogenesis,while little is known about innate immune cells in GVHD occurrence and development,especially macrophages.Meanwhile,a higher incidence of graft versus host disease(GVHD)is also found in the elderly patients.Though advances have been made in the modification of macrophages influenced by the inflamm-ageing,there is still no review on the role of macrophages in GVHD and the association between GVHD and the altered macrophages by inflamm-ageing.In this review,we focus on the potential age-related modifications of macrophage in GVHD,which contributes to the change of morbidity and mortality of GVHD.Via literature review,we found that the infiltration of macrophages is associated with GVHD and macrophages are modified in inflamm-ageing state,including the proliferation,migration,phagocytosis,antigen presentation,interaction with other immune cells,and pro-fibrosis.We suppose that altered macrophage functions in inflamm-ageing state contribute to GVHD in elderly patients.

Unsuccessful treatment of four patients with acute graft-vs-host disease after liver transplantation

AIM: To investigate appropriate therapeutic strategies for graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) following liver transplantation. METHODS: Four patients who developed GVHD after liver transplantation in West China Hospital were included in this study. Therapeutic strategies with augmentation or withdrawal of immunosuppressants combined with supportive therapy were investigated in these patients. In addition, a literature review of patients who developed GVHD after liver transplantation was performed. RESULTS: Although a transient response to initial treatment was detected, all four patients died of complications from GVHD: one from sepsis with multiple organ failure, one from gastrointestinal bleeding, and the other two from sepsis with gastrointestinal bleeding. Few consensuses for the treatment of GVHD after liver transplantation have been reached.CONCLUSION: New and effective treatments are re-quired for GVHD after liver transplantation to improve the prognosis of patients with this diagnosis.

Graft-verse-host disease after liver transplantation:A report of two cases and review of literature

Graft-verse-host disease (GVHD) is an uncommon fatal complication following liver transplantation (LTx). In China's Mainland, only six cases have been reported with a morbidity rate up to 1%-2%. Definitive diagnosis was achieved by molecular techniques (HLA typing or PCR-STR) in only two cases and the remaining cases were diagnosed based on typical clinical features with exclusion of other possible causes. All patients died of septic shock or multiple organ failure even after administration of increased corticosteroids and supportive therapy, and reduced immunosuppressive agents. In our center, two cases of GVHD were found among 128 (1.56%) patients. One case was diagnosed by detecting lymphocyte macrochimerism through DNA-STR. Both of them died even after aggressive treatment. In China, the incidence of GVHD is similar to that reported by foreign centers except for an extremely bad prognosis. Rapid diagnosis is crucial for a better prognosis. In China, only 37.5% of cases are diagnosed by molecular methods. We recommend detecting lymphocyte macrochimerism through DNA-STR to get a rapid diagnosis, and interleukin 2-receptor antibody (basiliximab or daclizumab) therapy seems to be a good choice for the disease.

Gut microbiome in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and specific changes associated with acute graft vs host disease

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(aHSCT)is a standard validated therapy for patients suffering from malignant and nonmalignant hematological diseases.However,aHSCT procedures are limited by potentially life-threatening complications,and one of the most serious complications is acute graft-versus-host disease(GVHD).During the last decades,DNA sequencing technologies were used to investigate relationship between composition or function of the gut microbiome and disease states.Even if it remains unclear whether these microbiome alterations are causative or secondary to the presence of the disease,they may be useful for diagnosis,prevention and therapy in aHSCT recipients.Here,we summarized the most recent findings of the association between human gut microbiome changes and acute GVHD in patients receiving aHSCT.

Cytokines are early diagnostic biomarkers of graft-versus-host disease in liver recipients

BACKGROUND： Graft-versus-host disease （GVHD） is associated with high mortality. Early diagnosis is essential to start treatment and to improve outcomes. Because of the inflammatory nature, we hypothesis that cytokine profile of patients with GVHD may serve as diagnostic markers. The present study was to evaluate the role of cytokine profile in the diagnosis of GVHD. METHODS： An immunoassay was used to detect 29 cytokines simultaneously in the serum; the measuring sensitivity of all cytokines was pg/mL. Healthy subjects undergoing annual routine physical examinations served as negative controls; 23 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） who had undergone liver transplantation （the LT group） comprised the test subjects. A total of 22 kidney recipients with biopsyconfirmed GVHD （the RT group） were included for comparison. HCC patients with radical surgery （the HCC group, n=22） served as positive control. The liver contents of the three cytokines, IL-2, IL-18, and IFN-γ, were detected with immunohistochemistry. Serum granzyme B and perforin were measured by flow cytometry.RESULTS： Of the 29 cytokines, the levels of IL-2 and IL-18 were increased significantly in liver recipients with GVHD compared with healthy controls （P〈0.05）. The serum levels of these three cytokines in the healthy, HCC, LT, and RT groups were IL-2： 0.90±0.02, 4.14±0.61, 5.10±0.89, and 1.48±0.09 pg/mL; IL-18： 80.61±9.35, 109.51±10.93, 230.11±12.92, and 61.98±7.88 pg/mL; IFN-γ： 24.06±3.88, 24.84±3.21, 40.37±5.88, and 15.33±4.72 pg/mL, respectively. Immunohistochemistry showed that these 3 cytokines expressions in the liver were parallel to the serum cytokine. After standard anti-GVHD treatment, the expressions of IL-2, IL-18, and IFN-y were de- creased in the liver （P〈0.05）. Serum granzyme B and perforin were significantly increased in GVHD patients （P〈0.05）. CONCLUSIONS： IL-2, IL-18 and IFN-γ were from liver and might serve as biomarkers for monitoring GVHD develop- ment and the effects of anti-GVHD treatment. Granzyme B and perforin may play a role in increasing IL-2, IL-18, and IFN-y levels in GVHD patients.

Endoscopic diagnosis of gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease

AIM:To evaluate the diagnostic value of endoscopy in patients with gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease (GI GVHD). METHODS:We identified 8 patients with GI GVHD following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell trans-plantation (HSCT). GVHD was defined histologically as the presence of gland apoptosis, not explained by other inflammatory or infectious etiologies. RESULTS:The symptoms of GI GVHD included anorexia, nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhea, abdominal pain, GI bleeding, etc. Upper endoscopic appearance varied from subtle mucosal edema, hyperemia, erythema to obvious erosion. Colonoscopic examination showed diffuse edema, hyperemia, patchy erosion, scattered ulcer, sloughing and active bleeding. Histological changes in GI GVHD included apoptosis of crypt epithelial cells, dropout of crypts, and lymphocytic infiltration in epithelium and lamina propria. The involvement of stomach and rectocolon varied from diffuse to focal. CONCLUSION:Endoscopy may play a significant role in early diagnosis of GI GVHD patients following allogeneic HSCT, and histologic examination of gastrointestinal biopsies is needed to confirm the final diagnosis.

Immune Regulatory Cell Biology and Clinical Applications to Prevent or Treat Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease

The most common approaches to prevent and treat graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) are intended to deplete or suppress the T cells capable of mediating or supporting alloresponses;however, this renders the recipients functionally T cell deficient and hence highly susceptible to infections and tumor recurrence. Depletion is often accomplished through the use of broadly reactive antibodies, while functional impairment is typically achieved by pharmacological agents that require long-term administration (usually six months or more), have significant side effects, and may not result in tolerance (i.e., nonresponsiveness) of donor T cells to conditioning regimen-resistant host alloantigen-bearing cells. As our knowledge of immune system homeostasis has increased, cell populations with immune regulatory function have been identified and characterized. Although such cell populations are typically present in low frequencies, methods to isolate and expand these cells have permitted their supplementation to the donor graft or infusion late post-transplant in order to stifle GVHD. This review discusses the biology and preclinical proof of concept of GVHD models, along with GVHD outcomes that focus exclusively on immune regulatory cell therapies that have progressed to clinical testing.

Umbilical Cord Blood-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Ameliorate Graft-Versus-Host Disease Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation through Multiple Immunoregulations

Summary： Although mesenchymal stem cells （MSCs） are increasingly used to treat graft-versus-host disease （GVHD）, their immune regulatory mechanism in the process is elusive. The present study aimed to investigate the curative effect of third-party umbilical cord blood-derived human MSCs （UCB-hMSCs） on GVHD patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation （allo-HSCT） and their immune regulatory mechanism. Twenty-four refractory GVHD patients after allo-HSCT were treated with UCB-hMSCs. Immune cells including T lymphocyte subsets, NK ceils, Treg cells and dendritic cells （DCs） and cytokines including interleukin-17 （IL-17） and tumor necrosis factor-alpha （TNF-α） were monitored before and after MSCs transfusion. The results showed that the symptoms of GVHD were alleviated significantly without increased relapse of primary disease and transplant-related complications after MSCs transfusion. The number of CD3^＋, CD3＋CD4^＋ and CD3＋CD8^＋ cells decreased significantly, and that of NK cells remained unchanged, whereas the number of CD4^＋ and CD8^＋ Tregs increased and reached a peak at 4 weeks; the number of mature DCs, and the levels of TNF-α and IL-17 decreased and reached a trough at 2 weeks. It was concluded that MSCs ameliorate GVHD and spare GVL effect via immunoregulations.

Ocular Graft versus Host Disease: A Review of Clinical Manifestations, Diagnostic Approaches and Treatment

Allogenic haematological stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) from a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matched related or unrelated donor is used as a curative therapy for a large number of malignant and non-malignant haematological diseases. The curative effect of allo-SCT is achieved by graft versus leukaemia effect while the downside of the graft versus patient activity is the graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), a major reason for mortality and morbidity. The search of articles for this review had been accomplished using Ovid, Medline, Embase, Pubmed and was supplemented by retrieving cross references also. Electronic literature search for English language articles with full text access was performed using graft versus host disease, ocular, management, dry eyes as key words. This review has been intended to explicate the classification, pathogenesis, risk factors and management of ocular graft versus host disease.

Fulminant gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease concomitant with cytomegalovirus infection:Case report and literature review

Here,we report a case of fulminant gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease(GI-GVHD) with cytomegalovirus(CMV) infection in 44-year-old woman.Despite the difficulties associated with the treatment of GIGVHD and GI-CMV disease,the mucosal findings and the clinical course showed marked improvements during long-term clinical observation.The endoscopic findings were remarkable,with diffuse sloughing mucosa in the stomach and highly active inflammation and deep discrete ulcers throughout the colon.Changes in the CMV quantitative polymerase chain reaction results were correlated with the endoscopic mucosal findings and were useful for assessing the efficacy of the treatment.Although a definite diagnosis of GI-GVHD is generally made by endoscopy with biopsy,the gross appearance of this disease can vary depending on the endoscopy.In this paper,we also conduct a literature review of patients with GI-GVHD.

Biology of chronic graft-vs-host disease:Immune mechanisms and progress in biomarker discovery

Chronic graft-vs-host disease(c GVHD) is the leading cause of long-term morbidity and mortality following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It presents as a chronic inflammatory and sclerotic autoimmune-like condition that most frequently affects the skin, oral mucosa, liver, eyes and gastrointestinal tract. Both clinical and animal studies have shown that multiple T cell subsets including Th1, Th2, Th17, T follicular helper cells and regulatory T-cells play some role in cG VHD development and progression; B cells also play an important role in the disease including the production of antibodies to HY and nuclear antigens that can cause serious tissue damage. An array of cytokines and chemokines produced by different types of immune cells also mediate tissue inflammation and damage of cG VHD target tissues such as the skin and oral cavity. Many of these same immune regulators have been studied as candidate cG VHD biomarkers. Recent studies suggest that some of these biomarkers may be useful for determining disease prognosis and planning long-term clinical followup of cG VHD patients.

Esophageal stenosis with sloughing esophagitis:A curious manifestation of graft-vs-host disease

We report a case of a 56-year-old woman with a history of allogenic bone marrow transplantation for two years,complaining with dysphagia and weight loss. Upper endoscopy revealed esophageal stenosis and extensive mucosa sloughing. Biopsies confirmed the diagnosis of graft-vs-host disease(GVHD). Balloon dilation,corticosteroids and cyclosporin resulted in marked clinical improvement. Gastrointestinal tract is involved in the majority of patients with chronic GVHD. Esophageal manifestations are rare and include vesiculobullous disease,ulceration,esophageal webs,casts or strictures. Sloughing esophagitis along with severe stenosis requiring endoscopic dilation has never been reported in this context.

Ruxolitinib add-on in corticosteroid-refractory graft-vs-host disease after allogeneic stem cell transplantation:Results from a retrospective study on 38 Chinese patients

BACKGROUND Graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) is a major cause of mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.Some patients have steroid-refractory(SR) GVHD.AIM To evaluate the effect and safety of ruxolitinib add-on in the treatment of patients with SR acute (a) and chronic (c) GVHD.METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 38 patients administered ruxolitinib add-on to standard immunosuppressive therapy for SR-aGVHD or SR-cGVHD following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.Ruxolitinib was administered5-10 mg/d depending on disease severity,patient status,and the use of antifungal drugs.Overall response rate,time to best response,malignancy relapse rate,infection rate,and treatment-related adverse events were assessed.RESULTS The analysis included 10 patients with SR-aGVHD (gradeⅢ/Ⅳ,n=9) and 28patients with SR-cGVHD (moderate/severe,n=24).For the SR-aGVHD and SRcGVHD groups,respectively:Median number of previous GVHD therapies was 2(range:1-3) and 2 (1-4);median follow-up was 2.5 (1.5-4) and 5 (1.5-10) mo;median time to best response was 1 (0.5-2.5) and 3 (1-9.5) mo;and overall response rate was 100%(complete response:80%) and 82.1%(complete response:10.7%) with a response observed in all GVHD-affected organs.The malignancy relapse rates for the SR-aGVHD and SR-cGVHD groups were 10.0%and 10.7%,respectively.Reactivation rates for cytomegalovirus,Epstein-Barr virus,and varicella-zoster virus,respectively,were 30.0%,10.0%,and 0%for the SR-aGVHD group and 0%,14.3%,and 7.1%for the SR-cGVHD group.CONCLUSION Ruxolitinib add-on was effective and safe as salvage therapy for SR-GVHD.

Oral graft vs host disease:An immune system disorder in hematopoietic cell transplantation

Graft vs host disease(GVHD) is a complication of patients who are treated by hematopoietic cell transplantation.National Institutes of Health in 2005 by Working Group on Diagnosis and Staging Consensus Development Project on Criteria for Clinical Trials in Chronic GVHD(cGVHD) established 2 principal categories of oral GVHD, acute and chronic. The oral mucosa may be the first site of manifestation of the disease. Clinical diagnosis needs to be confirmed by a biopsy of oral mucosa and minor salivary glands. Microscopic results have played a major role in the diagnosis and management of acute and chronic oral GVHD. Development of second malignancies is the greatest risk of oral cGVHD patients, mostly regarding squamous cell carcinoma. The focus of oral GVHD therapy is to improve symptoms and maintain oral function. The aim of this review article is to update the information on the oral GVHD in its clinical, microscopic features and their complications.

Immunophenotypic characteristics of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells that affect the efficacy of their use in the prevention of acute graft vs host disease

BACKGROUND Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells(MSCs)are widely used in the clinic due to their unique properties,namely,their ability to differentiate in all mesenchymal directions and their immunomodulatory activity.Healthy donor MSCs were used to prevent the development of acute graft vs host disease(GVHD)after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation(allo-BMT).The administration of MSCs to patients was not always effective.The MSCs obtained from different donors have individual characteristics.The differences between MSC samples may affect their clinical efficacy.AIM To study the differences between effective and ineffective MSCs.METHODS MSCs derived from the bone marrow of a hematopoietic stem cells donor were injected intravenously into allo-BMT recipients for GVHD prophylaxis at the moment of blood cell reconstitution.Aliquots of 52 MSC samples that were administered to patients were examined,and the same cells were cultured in the presence of peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs)from a third-party donor or treated with the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β,IFN and TNF.Flow cytometry revealed the immunophenotype of the nontreated MSCs,the MSCs cocultured with PBMCs for 4 d and the MSCs exposed to cytokines.The proportions of CD25-,CD146-,CD69-,HLA-DR-and PD-1-positive CD4+and CD8+cells and the distribution of various effector and memory cell subpopulations in the PBMCs cocultured with the MSCs were also determined.RESULTS Differences in the immunophenotypes of effective and ineffective MSCs were observed.In the effective samples,the mean fluorescence intensity(MFI)of HLAABC,HLA-DR,CD105,and CD146 was significantly higher.After MSCs were treated with IFN or cocultured with PBMCs,the HLA-ABC,HLA-DR,CD90 and CD54 MFI showed a stronger increase in the effective MSCs,which indicated an increase in the immunomodulatory activity of these cells.When PBMCs were cocultured with effective MSCs,the proportions of CD4+and CD8+central memory cells significantly decreased,and the proportion of CD8+CD146+lymphocytes increased more than in the subpopulations of lymphocytes cocultured with MSC samples that were ineffective in the prevention of GVHD;in addition,the proportion of CD8+effector memory lymphocytes decreased in the PBMCs cocultured with the effective MSC samples but increased in the PBMCs cocultured with the ineffective MSC samples.The proportion of CD4+CD146+lymphocytes increased only when cocultured with the inefficient samples.CONCLUSION For the first time,differences were observed between MSC samples that were effective for GVHD prophylaxis and those that were ineffective.Thus,it was shown that the immunomodulatory activity of MSCs depends on the individual characteristics of the MSC population.

Noninvasive tools based on immune biomarkers for the diagnosis of central nervous system graft-vs-host disease:Two case reports and a review of the literature

BACKGROUND Central nervous system graft-vs-host disease(CNS-GVHD)is a rare cause of CNS disorders after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.Currently,establishing a diagnosis of CNS-GVHD is challenging because the diagnostic criteria and diagnostic methods are not well defined and many confounding factors need to be ruled out.CASE SUMMARY Here,we present two patients with CNS-GVHD.Both patients with a history of acute GVHD or chronic GVHD developed neurological symptoms that could not be explained by other causes,and had abnormal cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)studies as determined by CSF and blood immune biomarker examinations,suggestive of suspected CNS-GVHD.Due to the lack of specific magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities and the rapid clinical deterioration of the patients,we did not attempt to perform a brain biopsy,but prompted the initiation of empirical immunosuppressive therapy.In view of the rapid and favorable response to local and systematic immunosuppressive treatment and the aforementioned neurologic manifestations together with CSF abnormalities and other negative findings,a final diagnosis of CNS-GVHD was made.CONCLUSION CSF and blood immune biomarker examinations facilitated the diagnosis of CNSGVHD,which are particularly suitable for patients who are critically ill and require urgent treatment and for those who are unsuitable for invasive diagnostic procedures.

Incidence of ocular manifestations in patients with graft versus host disease after allogeneic stem cell transplant in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

AIM: To evaluate the incidence and severity of ocular graft versus host disease(o GVHD) in patients who underwent allogeneic stem cell transplant(SCT) in King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, Saudi Arabia.METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted in King Abdul Aziz Medical City on patients who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant(allo-HCT) from 2010 to 2017. The ocular examination findings including visual acuity, meibomian gland dysfunction, corneal and conjunctival staining with severity, corneal scarring, tear film meniscus and breakup time, anterior and posterior segment examination findings, intraocular pressure, treatment given, punctual plugs used or not, and follow up response were collected.RESULTS: The five years cumulative incidence of o GVHD among post-transplant patients was 56.98%(95%CI 38.6%-71.7%). The potential risk factors assessed for developing ocular manifestation were age, gender, donor’s age, donor gender mismatch CD3 and CD34 infusion, while none of the correlates were identified as statistically significant risk factors of developing ocular manifestation. However, the incidence was statistically significantly different betweenpatients diagnosed with acute myelocytic leukemia and acute lymphocytic leukemia(P=0.038). The mean latent period to develop ocular symptoms was 20.5 mo. All patients had variable degree of dry eyes. None of the patients developed any posterior segment complication.CONCLUSION: The incidence of o GVHD is low in King Abdul-Aziz Medical City. This can be attributed to the preconditioning and immunosuppressive regime.

Gene expression of cytokines after allogeneic peripheral stem cell transplantation and its relationship with acute graft-versus-host disease

Objective: To investigate the role of cytokines IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-12, and IFN-γ in pathogenesis of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) after allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (allo-PBSCT). Methods: Forty-two patients undergoing allo-PBSCT were included in this study. Reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to analyze gene expression of cytokines IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-12, and IFN-γ. Results: All patients achieved engraftment, 18 patients developed grade ⅠGVHD, 6 patients developed grade Ⅱ-Ⅳ GVHD. The gene expression of IL-2, IL-12, and IFN-γ increased, the gene expression of IL-4 and IL-10 decreased. Conclusion: Cytokines IL-2, IL-12, and IFN-γ lead to a positive regulation of the development in human aGVHD, and IL-4 and IL-10 play negative regulatory roles.

OMISSION OF DAY +11 METHOTREXATE DOES NOT APPEAR TO INFLUENCE INCIDENCE AND SEVERITY OF GRAFT-VERSUS- HOST DISEASE AFTER ALLOGENEIC HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION

Objective: To explore the influence of omission of the day +11 dose of methotrexate (MIX) on the incidence and severity of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Methods: From April 1997 to October 2002, 80 leukemia patients (46 men and 34 women aged from 12 to 56 years with a median age of 35) underwent allo-HSCT at our BMT unit. Among them, 58 patients received grafts from HLA-identical siblings, 8 from HLA one major antigen mismatched siblings and 14 from HLA-matched unrelated donors. All patients received a modified cyclosporine and short-course MTX regimen for GVHD prophylaxis, which included MTX 15 mg on day +1, and 10 mg on days +3 and +6 (MTX day +11 dose omitted) and cyclosporine given daily. Results: The overall incidence of grade I~IV acute GVHD was 57.5% (46/80 patients), with grade II~IV acute GVHD in 28 patients (35%) and grade III~IV acute GVHD in 7 patients (8.8%). Among 58 patients receiving grafts from HLA-identical siblings, 24 patients developed grade I~IV acute GVHD (41.4%), with grade II~IV acute GVHD in 13 patients (22.4%) and grade III~IV acute GVHD in 4 patients (6.9%). 2l out of 22 patients receiving grafts from HLA one major antigen mismatched siblings and HLA-matched unrelated donors developed grade I~IV acute GVHD (95.5%), with grade II~IV acute GVHD in 14 patients (63.6%) and grade III~IV acute GVHD in 3 patients (13.6%). Chronic GVHD occurred in 38 out of 56 evaluable patients (67.9%), with extensive form in 15 patients (26.8%) and limited form in 23 patients (41.1%). With a median follow-up of 960 days (range 180~1980 days), the probability of leukemia-free survival at 3 years was 61.3% for all patients. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the day +11 MTX can be omitted without a major deleterious effect on the incidence and severity of graft-versus-host disease after HLA-identical sibling transplantation as well as HLA one major antigen mismatched sibling and HLA-matched unrelated donor transplantation.