Icosl+ Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells As Biomarker And Inducer Of Graft-Versus-Host Disease

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remains one of the leading causes of death post allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Gastrointestinal GVHD (GI-GVHD), the most fatal type of GVHD, would benefit from additional biomarkers that are therapeutic targets. Using state-of-the-art quantitative proteomics we previously identified and validated an increased CD4+CD146+ T cell population in GI-GVHD patients. This population expressed a Th1 and Th17 phenotype and was induced by Inducible COStimulator (ICOS), a critical costimulatory molecule for the development of pathogenic Th17 (Li W. et al, J. Clin. Invest. Insights, 2016).