Elevated transforming growth factor beta levels in the plasma of cytokine-treated cancer patients and normal allogeneic stem cell donors.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Allogeneic blood stem-cell donors demonstrate more vigorous mobilization of CD34(+) cells to the circulation in response to cytokine administration than do autologous donors. Transforming growth factor (TGF-beta1) has been implicated as a mobilization inhibitor. A study was designed to determine whether plasma TGF-beta1 levels are elevated in cytokine-mobilized autologous cancer donors compared with cytokine-mobilized normal donors.

METHODS:

Plasma collected from 29 autologous cancer donors and 33 normal allogeneic stem-cell donors following administration of mobilizing cytokines just prior to the first collection was assayed for TGF-beta1 using a sandwich-type ELISA. Plasma from three volunteers not treated with cytokine was also analyzed. Comparisons were made using the Student's t test on log-transformed data.

RESULTS:

Average TGF-beta1 levels in the plasma of cancer patients were significantly higher than in allogeneic stem-cell donors (4.4 ng/mL versus 7.2 ng/mL; p = 0.038). The allogeneic donors required fewer collections to harvest greater numbers of CD34(+) cells and colony-forming unit granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) than autologous donors. Plasma from three untreated volunteers had mean TGF-beta1 levels of 0.36 ng/mL, with all three levels below the 25th percentile for allogeneic donors and the 5th percentile for cancer patients.

DISCUSSION:

Cytokine administration was associated with increased plasma TGF-beta1 levels. The levels were higher in cancer patients being mobilized for stem-cell collection than in allogeneic blood stem-cell donors. These differences could underlie the increased number of apheresis procedures required to harvest autologous graft products from cancer patients.

• Authors: T R McGuire, A Kessinger, L Hock, J G Sharp
• Journal: Cytotherapy (Cytotherapy) Vol. 3 Issue 5 Pg. 361-4 ( 2001) ISSN: 1465-3249 [Print] England
• PMID: 11953015 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Comparative Study, Controlled Clinical Trial, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antigens, CD34
• Transforming Growth Factor beta
• Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor

Topics

• Antigens, CD34 (metabolism)
• Blood Donors
• Breast Neoplasms (blood, pathology, therapy)
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
• Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor (pharmacology)
• Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization
• Hematopoietic Stem Cells (drug effects)
• Humans
• Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin (blood, therapy)
• Neoplasms (blood, pathology, therapy)
• Transforming Growth Factor beta (blood)
• Transplantation, Autologous
• Transplantation, Homologous