Objectives: Graft-versus-host disease is the main complication after hematopoietic stem cell transplant, occurring even after donor and recipient human leukocyte antigen matching, apparently because of donor/recipient minor histocompatibility antigen mismatches and cytokine polymorphisms. Interleukin-10 suppresses several activities of the immune response by inhibiting T helper 1 and T helper 2 cells. These properties suggest that interleukin-10 could act as a suppressive mediator and prevent graft-versus-host disease. This study evaluates the association between the interleukin-10 promoter gene polymorphism and transplant outcomes among 18 recipients of cytokine-mobilized peripheral blood stem cells from human leukocyte antigen-matched sibling donors.
Materials and methods: We analyzed 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms in the proximal region of the interleukin-10 promoter gene (-1082/-819/-592) by the amplification refractory mutation system and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methods. Eighteen donors and their recipients who had undergone an allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplant at the Bone Marrow Transplant Center in Nemazi Hospital (Shiraz, Southern Iran) between September 2005 and September 2006 were enrolled.
Results: The GCC haplotype (1082G/819C/592C) was predominant in both the donor and the recipient, but no significant correlations were present between the GCC haplotype in either the donor or the recipient and the risk of acute graft-versus-host disease (P = .56).
Conclusions: The interleukin-10 promoter gene polymorphism was found not to be associated with acute graft-versus-host disease in patients after an allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplant from human leukocyte antigen-matched sibling donors. Additional studies with larger samples are necessary to further define the influence of interleukin-10 on the immune response after bone marrow transplant.