versus-host disease (GVHD) can manifest as acute or chronic complications in patients after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Oral chronic GVHD (cGVHD) occurs in approximately 70% of HCT recipients and includes lichenoid-like mucosal reactions, restricted mouth opening, and salivary gland dysfunction. However, the underlying histopathological presentation remains to be validated in large cohorts. We characterized the histopathological features of oral mucosal cGVHD and devised a scoring model in a large patient cohort (n = 112). Oral mucosal biopsy sections (n = 303) with and without oral cGVHD were identified from archived and current HCT recipients with additional healthy controls. Histological screening was performed on hematoxylin and eosinstained and periodic acid-Schiff-stained sections. A points-based grading tool (0 to 19, grade 0 to IV) was established based on intraepithelial lymphocytes and band-like inflammatory infiltrate, atrophic epithelium with basal cell liquefaction degeneration, including apoptosis, as well as separation of epithelium and pseudo-rete ridges. Validation involved 62 biopsy specimens, including post-HCT (n = 47) and healthy (n = 15) specimens. Remaining biopsy specimens (n = 199) were blindly graded by 3 observers. Histological severity was correlated with clinical diagnostic and distinctive features, demonstrating a spectrum of individual patient severity, including frequent signs of subclinical GVHD in healthy mucosa. However, oral cGVHD presented with significantly higher (P < .001) scores compared with HCT controls, with moderate to high positive likelihood ratios for inflammatory infiltrate, exocytosis, and basal membrane alterations. The grade II-IV biopsy specimens demonstrated a histopathological diagnosis of active mucosal lichenoid-like cGVHD, highlighting the importance of correlating clinical presentation with the dynamic histopathological processes for improved patient stratification. In addition, this tool could be used for assessing treatments, pathological processes, and immune cellular content to provide further insight into this debilitating disease.

Post-transplant, patients treated with allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) commonly develop acute(a) and/or chronic(c) graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) (Lee, 2017). cGVHD, an autoimmune-like disorder, can develop at multiple sites, and 45%-83% of patients develop oral manifestations (

Visual grading of chromogenically stained immunohistochemical (IHC) samples is subjective, time consuming, and predisposed to considerable inter- and intra-observer variations. The open-source digital analysis software, CellProfiler has been extensively used for fluorescently stained cells/tissues; however, chromogenic IHC staining is routinely used in both pathological and research diagnostics. The current investigation aimed to compare CellProfiler quantitative chromogenic IHC analyses against the gold standard manual counting. Oral mucosal biopsies from patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease were stained for CD4. Digitized images were manually counted and subjected to image analysis in CellProfiler. Inter-observer and inter-platform agreements were assessed by scatterplots with linear regression and Bland-Altman plots. Validation comparisons between the manual counters demonstrated strong intra-observer concordance (r = 0.979), particularly when cell numbers were less than 100. Scatterplots and Bland-Altman plots demonstrated strong agreement between the manual counters and CellProfiler, with the number of positively stained cells robustly correlating (r = 0.938). Furthermore, CellProfiler allowed the determination of multiple variables simultaneously, such as area stained and masking to remove any nonstained tissue and white gaps, which also demonstrated reliable agreement (r = >0.9). CellProfiler demonstrated versatility with the ability to assess large numbers of images and allowed additional parameters to be quantified. CellProfiler allowed rapid high processing capacity of chromogenically stained chronic inflammatory tissue that was reliable, accurate, and reproducible and highlights potential applications in research diagnostics.

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Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease (cGVHD) is a major long-term complication, associated with morbidity and mortality in patients following allogenic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for immune hematopoietic disorders. The mouth is one of the most frequently affected organs after HCT (45-83%) and oral cGVHD, which may appear as the first visible sign. Manifestations present with mucosal lichenoid lesions, salivary gland dysfunction and limited oral aperture. Diagnosis of oral cGVHD severity is based on mucosal lesions with symptoms of sensitivity and pain and reduced oral intake. However, diagnostic difficulties arise due to subjective definitions and low specificity to cover the spectrum of oral cGVHD. In recent years there have been significant improvements in our understanding of the underlying oral cGVHD disease mechanisms. Drawing upon the current knowledge on the pathophysiology and biological phases of oral cGVHD, we address oral mucosa lichenoid and Sjogren’s Syndrome-like sicca syndromes. We consider the response of alloreactive T-cells and macrophages to recipient tissues to drive the pathophysiological reactions and biological phases of acute inflammation (phase 1), chronic inflammation and dysregulated immunity (phase 2), and subsequent aberrant fibrotic healing (phase 3), which in time may be associated with an increased malignant transformation rate. When formulating treatment strategies, the pathophysiological spectrum of cGVHD is patient dependent and not every patient may progress chronologically through the biological stages. As such there remains a need to address and clarify personalized diagnostics and management to improve treatment descriptions. Within this review, we highlight the current state of the art knowledge on oral cGVHD pathophysiology and biological phases. We address knowledge gaps of oral cGVHD, with a view to facilitate clinical management and improve research quality on lichenoid biology and morbid forms of oral cGVHD.