Expression profiles of adhesion molecules on naive T cells in bone marrow grafts of healthy donors treated with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor

Background and objectives: Adhesion molecules on T cells were implicated in the process of leukocyte migration and GVHD. The aim of this study was to investigate the profiles of adhesion molecule expression on naive T cells in bone marrow grafts of healthy donors treated with G-CSF. Methods: The expression of four adhesion molecules, including VLA-4, ICAM-1, L-selectin, and LFA-1, on naive T cells in G-CSF-primed bone marrow grafts (G-BM) from 35 healthy donors was analyzed using flow cytometry. Results: G-CSF administration significantly decreased the expression of VLA-4, ICAM-1, L-selectin, and LFA-1 on naive CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in bone marrow grafts. Treating healthy donors with G-CSF significantly increased the percentages of interleukin-4 (IL-4) positive cells in naive CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell subsets, leading to polarization of bone marrow naive CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells from Th1 to Th2 phenotype. Conclusions: Our results suggest that CD4(+) and CD8(+) naive T cells in G-BM have lower intensities of expression of several adhesion molecules. The clinical significance of these alteration warrants further study. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.