We conducted a 45 patient prospective study of reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) and transplantation of unrelated umbilical cord blood (UCB) and CD34 ؉ stem cells from a haploidentical family member. Median age was 50 years; weight was 80 kg. Fifty-eight percent had active disease. Neutrophil engraftment occurred at 11 days (interquartile range [IQR], 9-15) and platelet engraftment at 19 days (IQR, 15-33). In the majority of patients, early haploidentical engraftment was replaced by durable engraftment of UCB by 100 days, with regular persistence of minor host and/or haplo-hematopoiesis. Percentage of haplochimerism at day 100 correlated with the haplo-CD34 dose (P ‫؍‬ .003). Cumulative incidence of acute GVHD (aGVHD) was 25% and chronic GVHD (cGVHD) was 5%. Actuarial survival at 1 year was 55%, progression-free survival (PFS) was 42%, nonrelapse mortality (NRM) was 28%, and relapse was 30%. RIC and haplo-cord transplantation results in fast engraftment of neutrophils and platelets, low incidences of aGVHD and cGVHD, low frequency of delayed opportunistic infections, reduced transfusion requirements, shortened length of hospital stay, and promising long-term outcomes. UCB cell dose had no impact on time to hematopoietic recovery. Therefore, UCB selection can prioritize matching, and better matched donors can be identified rapidly for most patients. This study is registered at http://clinicaltrials.gov as NCI clinical trial no. NCT00943800. (Blood. 2011;118(24):6438-6445)

Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is frequently used in oncology to measure the health status of older adults with cancer, but it has not been studied in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). We conducted a prospective pilot study of CGA in allogeneic HCT recipients aged ≥50 years to examine the prevalence of vulnerabilities in this population. Patients aged ≥50 years eligible for HCT were enrolled. CGA consisted mainly of self-reported, performance-based, and chart-extracted measures evaluating domains of comorbidity, physical and mental function, frailty, disability, and nutrition. Of 238 eligible patients, 166 completed CGA and underwent HCT. Only 1% had a Zubrod Performance Status score >1; 44% had high comorbidity defined by the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Comorbidity Index, and 66% had high comorbidity defined by the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale-Geriatrics. The presence of additional vulnerability was frequent. Disability was present in 40% by Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. Self-reported physical and mental function were significantly lower than population age group norms, 58% were pre-frail, and 25% were frail. Among those with Zubrod Performance Status score of 0, 28% demonstrated disability, 58% were pre-frail, 15% were frail, 35% reported low physical function, and 55% reported low mental function. CGA uncovers a substantial prevalence of undocumented impairments in functional status, frailty, disability, and mental health in older allogeneic HCT recipients.

Activation of the interferon (IFN) pathway in response to infection with pathogens results in the induction of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) including proinflammatory cytokines, which mount the proper antiviral immune response. However, aberrant expression of these genes is pathogenic to the host. In addition to IFN-induced transcription factors non-IFN-regulated factors contribute to the transcriptional control of ISGs. Here, we show by genome wide expression analysis, siRNA-mediated suppression and Doxycycline-induced overexpression that the cellular transcription factor ZNF395 activates a subset of ISGs including the chemokines CXCL10 and CXCL11 in keratinocytes. We found that ZNF395 acts independently of IFN but enhances the IFN-induced expression of CXCL10 and CXCL11. Luciferase reporter assays revealed a requirement of intact NFκB-binding sites for ZNF395 to stimulate the CXCL10 promoter. The transcriptional activation of CXCL10 and CXCL11 by ZNF395 was abolished after inhibition of IKK by BMS-345541, which increased the stability of ZNF395. ZNF395 encodes at least two motifs that mediate the enhanced degradation of ZNF395 in response to IKK activation. Thus, IKK is required for ZNF395-mediated activation of transcription and enhances its turn-over to keep the activity of ZNF395 low. Our results support a previously unrecognized role of ZNF395 in the innate immune response and inflammation.

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3378 Poster Board III-266 Introduction: Haploidentical-cord blood transplantation is a promising approach for patients (pts) who lack HLA donors and may improve rates of early engraftment while allowing long term cord blood reconstitution with low rates of GVHD. We enrolled 29 pts (17 AML/MDS, 4 ALL, 3 CML, 4 NHL/HL, 1 severe aplastic anemia) lacking HLA identical donors. The median age was 40 years (range, 4-67), and median weight was 75 kg (range, 14-125). Twenty-two (76%) pts had active disease at time of transplant; 6 had prior autologous transplants. 14 pts were Caucasian; 15 were other race or ethnicity. The haploidentical donor was the mother in 4; father in 3; child in 10; sibling in 10; and half-sibling in 2 cases. The median haploidentical CD34+ dose was 2.51 × 106/kg (range, 1.25-10.95); CD3+ cells were 1.0 × 104/kg (range, 0.3-3.7). Single unrelated CB units were matched by low resolution at HLA-A and B and high-resolution at DRB1, and matched 6/6 in 2 pts; 5/6 in 18 pts; 4/6 in 9 pts. Median cord total nucleated cells equaled 1.93 × 107/kg (range, 1.07-9.36); CD34+ cells were 0.08 × 106/kg (range, 0.03-0.75). The conditioning regimen for 18 pts was fludarabine (Flu) (30 mg/m2 on d-7 through -3), melphalan (Mel) (70 mg/m2 on d -3 and -2), and Thymoglobulin (rATG) (1.5 mg/kg on d-7, -5, -3, -1). Eleven pts received Flu, thiotepa (5 mg/kg on d -7 and -6), total-body irradiation (TBI) (12 Gy lateral opposed fields in 2 Gy fractions BID on d-3 through -1), and rATG. GVHD prophylaxis consisted of tacrolimus (Tac) + methylprednisolone or Tac + mycophenolate. Engraftment: Two pts died early (sepsis, CVA). Three other pts failed to engraft with either haploidentical or CB and died of infection on d36, 43, and 63. One of these had anti-donor HLA antibodies. 24 pts engrafted with a median time to ANC >500/mL of 10 days (range, 9-31) and median time to sustained platelets >20,000/mL of 20 days (range, 15-63). In the majority of pts, early haploidentical engraftment was replaced by durable engraftment of CB by 100 days. However, 3 pts had persistent hematopoiesis associated with only the haploidentical donor, while a fourth pt engrafted with only CB on day 31. Late graft failure and death from sepsis occurred in one of the patients with haploidentical engraftment. In unfractionated peripheral blood or bone marrow cells, median haploidentical chimerism was 95% (range, 0-100) on d14; 76% (range, 0-95) on d30; 6% (range, 0-87) on d100. Median unfractionated cord chimerism was <5% (range, 0-100) on d14; 20% (range, 0-100) on d30; 85% (range, 0-100) on d100. In the CD3+ compartment, median haploidentical chimerism was 95% (range, 0-100) on d14; 86% (range, 0-95) on d30; 6% (range, 0-79) on d100. Median CD3+ cord chimerism was 5% (range, 0-100) on d14; 26% (range, 0-100) on d30; 90% (range, 1-100) on d100. Toxicities and outcome: Other fatal toxicities included VOD (1), EBV-associated PTLD (1), ARDS (1), cardiac arrest (1), intractable seizures (1). Two patients developed TTP and later died of complications related to sepsis. Five pts relapsed of whom 4 have died. Acute GVHD (aGVHD) grade II occurred in 3 pts, one of whom developed the only case of chronic GVHD after failing to continue prograf. No aGVHD grade III-IV was seen. Twelve pts are currently alive; 11 are without disease. The median follow up for survivors is 186 days (range, 16-642). Estimated one year survival is 26% (95%CI, 6-46), and PFS is 19% (1-36). Conclusions: Combined haploidentical and CB transplantation results in early haploidentical engraftment followed by durable CB predominance in a majority of pts. The median times to neutrophil engraftment are considerably shorter - and the range narrower - than with other methods of cord blood transplantation. Early haploidentical engraftment failed in four patients; cord blood engraftment also failed in three of these pts and in three others. Rates of acute and particularly of chronic GVHD are low. Durable remissions can be achieved even in high risk pts regardless of age or remission status at the time of transplant. Disclosures: Rich: Genzyme: Research Funding. Odenike:Genzyme: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. van Besien:Genzyme: Research Funding.