Prognostic significance of increased IL-10 production in patients prior toallogeneic bone marrow transplantation

IL-10 is a potent immunosuppressant which inhibits allo-antigen-specific T cell responses. In addition, IL-10 is a strong endogenous anti-inflammatory cytokine, To investigate the role of IL-10 in the induction of acute GVHD following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) we performed a prosp ective study on spontaneous IL-10 production by peripheral blood mononuclea r cells (PBMNC) in 84 patients admitted for allogeneic BMT. High spontaneou s IL-10 production by PBMNC at the time of admission and prior to any prepa rative treatment correlated with a subsequent low incidence of GVHD and tra nsplant-related mortality (8%), as compared to patients with low or interme diate IL-10 production (50%, P < 0.01). Our data demonstrate the prognostic significance of increased IL-10 production in BMT patients and suggest a m ajor role of IL-10 in maintaining immunobalance in the setting of allogenei c BMT.