Severe and long-lasting disruption of T-cell receptor diversity in human myeloma after high-dose chemotherapy and autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell infusion
S. Mariani et al., Severe and long-lasting disruption of T-cell receptor diversity in human myeloma after high-dose chemotherapy and autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell infusion, BR J HAEM, 113(4), 2001, pp. 1051-1059
Vaccine-based strategies are currently under investigation as a means of in
ducing tumour-specific immune responses and improving the clinical outcome
of multiple myeloma (MM) patients in remission after high-dose chemotherapy
and peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) infusion. The immune competenc
e of these patients was investigated by determining the overall diversity o
f the T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire in the peripheral blood (PB) and bon
e marrow (BM). The average time after transplantation was 13 months. The cl
onality and reciprocal usage of BV gene segments (TCRBV repertoire) was est
imated at the cDNA level and membrane protein expression. The TCRBV reperto
ire of MM was severely disrupted compared with age-matched normal donors. O
n average, one-third of the total repertoire in both the PB and the BM cons
isted of T cells expressing oligoclonal TCR beta transcripts. Flow cytometr
y showed an increased frequency of abnormally expanded BV subfamilies at bo
th sites. BV expansions were predominantly CD8(+) and had the phenotype of
antigen-experienced memory T cells as well as T cells with the naive phenot
ype. Oligoclonality was not restricted to phenotypically expanded BV subfam
ilies, but also involved normally represented BV subfamilies. The TCR reper
toire of MM in remission was then compared with monoclonal gammopathy of un
determined significance (MGUS) and MM patients at diagnosis. The degree of
TCR diversity was similar in age-matched normal donors and MGUS, but progre
ssively decreased from MGUS to MM at diagnosis and then to MM in remission.
These data indicate that: (1) there is a long-lasting and severe disruptio
n of TCR diversity after high-dose chemotherapy and PBPC infusion, and (2)
the extent of TCR disruption may affect the clinical outcome of vaccine-bas
ed strategies delivered at the stage of minimal residual disease.