Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) initiate both innate and adaptive immune responses, making them attractive targets for post-transplantation immunotherapy, particularly after cord blood transplantation (CBT). Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists are currently studied for pDC stimulation in various clinical settings. Their efficacy depends on pDC number and functionality, which are unknown after CBT. We performed a longitudinal study of pDC reconstitution in children who underwent bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and single-unit CBT. Both CBT and unrelated BMT patients received antithymocyte globulin as part of their graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis regimen. pDC blood counts were higher in CBT patients than in healthy volunteers from 2 to 9 months after transplantation, whereas they remained lower in BMT patients. We showed that cord blood progenitors gave rise in vitro to a 500-fold increase in functional pDCs over bone marrow counterparts. Upon stimulation with a TLR agonist, pDCs from both CBT and BMT recipients upregulated T cell costimulatory molecules, whereas interferon-alpha (IFN-α) production was impaired for 9 months after CBT. TLR agonist treatment is thus not expected to induce IFN-α production by pDCs after CBT, limiting its immunotherapeutic potential. Fortunately, in vitro production of large amounts of functional pDCs from cord blood progenitors paves the way for the post-transplantation adoptive transfer of pDCs.

CMV and varicella zoster virus (VZV) are significant causes of morbidity and mortality following umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT). However, the kinetics of reconstitution and protective potential of antiviral cell-mediated immune responses following UCBT remain poorly characterized. In this study, the reconstitution of CMV- and VZV-specific T cell responses was assessed using IFN-γ ELISPOT in 28 children who underwent UCBT to treat hematological or inherited disorders. Barely detectable in the first 3 mo posttransplantation, CMV- and VZV-specific T cell responses were observed in 30.4% and 40.3% of study subjects after 36 mo of follow-up. Four of five CMV-seropositive subjects developed detectable levels of circulating CMV DNA (DNAemia), and 5 of 17 VZV-seropositive patients experienced herpes zoster during the posttransplant period. Four CMV-seronegative subjects developed IFN-γ responses against CMV, and four subjects developed a VZV-specific IFN-γ response without clinical signs of infection. No CMV- or VZV-related events were observed in study subjects following the development of CMV- or VZV-specific responses > 150 spot-forming units/106 PBMCs, consistent with T cell-mediated protection. Finally, famciclovir prophylaxis did not strictly prevent the reconstitution of the VZV-specific T cell repertoire, because the frequency of T cells producing IFN-γ in response to VZV Ags reached levels consistent with protection in two nonzoster subjects. Monitoring of CMV- and VZV-specific cell-mediated immunity could inform immunocompetence and guide the initiation and cessation of antiherpetic prophylaxis in UCBT recipients.

BackgroundBeta-hemolytic Group A Streptococcus invasive disease (iGASd) has been subject to intense research since its re-emergence in the late 1980s. In Quebec, an increase in the number of severe iGASd cases has recently been observed. Because of the inter-individual variability in the severity of iGASd, a hereditary predisposition to invasive disease can be suspected. Given that iGASd occurs in MyD88- and IRAK4-deficient patients, although rarely, the increasing frequency of iGASd in the population of French-Canadian children may be associated with a deficiency in the host’s innate immune response.MethodsIn this report, we assessed the influence of: (i) bacterial genotype and virulence factors, (ii) immune-cellular features, and (iii) Myd88/IRAK4-dependent response to GAS in vitro on the susceptibility to iGASd in a paediatric cohort of 16 children: 11 French-Canadian and 5 from diverse origin.FindingsGAS virulence factors and genotype are not implicated in the susceptibility toward iGASd, and cellular and MyD88/IRAK4 deficiencies are excluded in our patients.ConclusionsAlthough it has been shown that the MyD88/IRAK4-dependent signal is involved in the response to invasive GAS, our data indicates that a MyD88/IRAK4-mediated signalling defect is not the main factor responsible for the susceptibility to severe iGASd in a paediatric population from the province of Quebec.

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) remains the best treatment for severe aplastic anemia. The current priority order for selection of a stem cell donor is an HLA-identical sibling, a matched unrelated donor, and a haplo-identical donor when the first two are unavailable. 1 Cord blood (CB) transplant also offers a curative option, although few adult cases have been reported due to insufficient number of progenitor cells leading to high risk of graft failure and infections. 1,2 The use of two CB units may accelerate engraftment but has fallen into disfavor due to higher costs of procurement and significant incidence of acute graft-vs-host disease (GVHD). 3 CB expansion can fasten hematologic reconstitution, but no experience in severe aplastic anemia has yet been reported, likely due to fear of graft rejection and lack of availability of expanded CBs. 3 UM171, a first-in-class pyrimidoindole derivative, allows expansion of hematopoietic stem cells by an average of 35-fold within 7 days by enhancing the human long-term-repopulating hematopoietic SC self-renewal independently of aryl hydrocarbon receptor suppression. 4 With a median follow-up of 18 months, a recent phase I/II study in 22 patients with high-risk malignancies has shown that UM171-expanded CB grafts can lead to prompt engraftment, a