255 PRF deficiency occurs not only with allelic variants characterized by mutations in the coding region of the gene. McIlroy et al. reported that the occurrence of a C/T polymorphism at position-398 of the proximal promoter region of the PRF1 gene was associated with decreased quantities of PRF in CTLs in HIV infected patients. A decrease of about 50% of control PRF levels was observed in hete...

Case 1: A five-year-old girl, a case of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (L1) presented with fever and lethargy a fortnight after receiving the late intensification chemotherapy consist-ing of vincristine, daunorubicin, cytarabine, etoposide, thioguanine and oral dexamethasone over a period of five days (UK ALL X protocol)(8). She had been in a sustained first remission for nearly 18 weeks. Examina...

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remains a significant complication of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT). Acute GVHD is mediated by immunocompetent donor T cells, which migrate to lymphoid tissues soon after infusion, recognize host alloantigens, and become activated upon interaction with host antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Recent work from our group and others suggests that a...

Graft-versus-host disease is a common complication of allogenic hematopoietic cell transplantation and less frequently of solid organ transplantation. The skin is one of the initial and main organs affected, and as such, recognizing the dermatologic manifestations allows early diagnosis and treatment. In this article we aim to describe the cutaneous manifestations of graft-versus-host disease s...

Transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GVHD) is a rare but almost uniformly lethal complication of blood transfusion. Although the graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) that occurs after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation and TA-GVHD share some clinical similarities, GVHD after bone marrow transplant is not uncommon and often responds positively to immunosuppression. The much rarer...

Calcineurin inhibition for graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) prophylaxis was introduced into clinical practice of bone marrow transplantation about 35 years ago. Through the early work of Storb, Deeg and Ringden it became clear that calcineurin inhibition with cyclosporine A as a single agent was more effective than methotrexate alone and that the two drugs acted synergistically (see Table 1 for...

Transfusion associated graft versus host disease (TA-GVHD) results from engraftment of viable donor T-lymphocytes in recipient that can not recognize or destroy them. It is seen in immunocompromised patients and pre-mature neonates. It can also occur in immunocompetent individuals receiving blood from first-degree relatives. It has emerged as single most common cause of death resulting from tra...