OBJECTIVETo study the relationship between the donor and recipient serum interleukin 2 (IL-2) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) levels and the occurrence of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

METHODSTwenty-two leukemic patients undergoing allo-hematopoietic stem cells transplantation and their donors were examined for serum levels of IL-2 and TNF-alpha using ELISA during conditioning and after the transplantation. IL-2 and TNF-alpha levels were also detected in the donors during mobilization to analyze the relationship between the cytokines and aGVHD.

RESULTSFive recipients showed no aGVHD, 10 developed grade I aGVHD, and 7 developed grade II-IV aGVHD. The serum levels of IL-2 and TNF-alpha after conditioning and post-transplantation were significantly higher in the recipients with grade II-IV aGVHD than in those with grade 0-I aGVHD, but no difference was found before the pre-conditioning. The serum IL-2 levels in the mobilized donors for the recipients with grade II-IV aGVHD were significantly higher than that in donors for recipients with grade 0-I aGVHD, whereas the levels of TNF-alpha showed no such a difference.

CONCLUSIONSerum IL-2 and TNF-alpha levels in the leukemic patients after conditioning and post-transplantation, and the donor serum IL-2 level after mobilization may be correlative to the severity of aGVHD and can be used as indicators for predicting the severity of aGVHD after the transplantation.