A novel soluble form of Tim-3 associated with severe graft-versus-host disease.
Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2013;
19:1323-30. [PMID:
23791624 DOI:
10.1016/j.bbmt.2013.06.011]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2013] [Accepted: 06/10/2013] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The T cell Ig and mucin domain 3 (Tim-3) receptor has been implicated as a negative regulator of adaptive immune responses. We have utilized a proteomic strategy to identify novel proteins associated with graft versus host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Mass spectrometry analysis of plasma from subjects with mid-gut and upper-gut GVHD compared with those without GVHD identified increased levels of a protein identified with high confidence as Tim-3. A follow-up validation study using an immunoassay to measure Tim-3 levels in individual plasma samples from 127 patients demonstrated significantly higher plasma Tim-3 concentrations in patients with the more severe mid-gut GVHD, compared with those with upper-gut GVHD (P = .005), patients without GVHD (P = .002), and normal controls (P < .0001). Surface expression of Tim-3 was increased on CD8(+) T cells from patients with grade 2 to 4 acute GVHD (P = .01). Mass spectrometry-based profiling of plasma from multiple subjects diagnosed with common diseases provided evidence for restricted release of soluble Tim-3 in the context of GVHD. These findings have mechanistic implications for the development of novel strategies for targeting the Tim-3 immune regulatory pathway as an approach to improving control of GVHD.
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