Activity of therapeutic JAK 1/2 blockade in graft-versus-host disease - PubMed (original) (raw)

. 2014 Jun 12;123(24):3832-42.

doi: 10.1182/blood-2013-12-543736. Epub 2014 Apr 7.

Nimitha R Mathew 2, Michael Bscheider 1, Annette Schmitt-Graeff 3, Sophia Chen 2, Tony Mueller 2, Mareike Verbeek 1, Julius Fischer 1, Vera Otten 1, Martina Schmickl 1, Kristina Maas-Bauer 2, Jürgen Finke 2, Christian Peschel 1, Justus Duyster 2, Hendrik Poeck 1, Robert Zeiser 2, Nikolas von Bubnoff 2

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Activity of therapeutic JAK 1/2 blockade in graft-versus-host disease

Silvia Spoerl et al. Blood. 2014.

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Abstract

Graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) is a severe complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) characterized by the production of high levels of proinflammatory cytokines. Activated Janus kinases (JAKs) are required for T-effector cell responses in different inflammatory diseases, and their blockade could potently reduce acute GVHD. We observed that inhibition of JAK1/2 signaling resulted in reduced proliferation of effector T cells and suppression of proinflammatory cytokine production in response to alloantigen in mice. In vivo JAK 1/2 inhibition improved survival of mice developing acute GVHD and reduced histopathological GVHD grading, serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and expansion of alloreactive luc-transgenic T cells. Mechanistically, we could show that ruxolitinib impaired differentiation of CD4(+) T cells into IFN-γ- and IL17A-producing cells, and that both T-cell phenotypes are linked to GVHD. Conversely, ruxolitinib treatment in allo-HCT recipients increased FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells, which are linked to immunologic tolerance. Based on these results, we treated 6 patients with steroid-refractory GVHD with ruxolitinib. All patients responded with respect to clinical GVHD symptoms and serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines. In summary, ruxolitinib represents a novel targeted approach in GVHD by suppression of proinflammatory signaling that mediates tissue damage and by promotion of tolerogenic Treg cells.

© 2014 by The American Society of Hematology.

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