Favorable Immune Reconstitution After Nonmyeloablative, T-Cell Replete, HLA-Haploidentical BMT with Post-Transplant Cyclophosphamide
Authors: Symons Heather J. , Kesserwan Chimene , Kos Ferdynand , Thoburn Christopher J. , Munchel Ashley T. , Ying Wendy , Luznik Leo , Levitsky Hyam I. , Jones Richard J. , Hess Allan D. , Fuchs Ephraim J. 
Published: October 2019

Abstract 1009

Delayed immune reconstitution with increased risk of opportunistic infection is a major complication of HLA-haploidentical stem cell transplantation, especially in protocols employing extensive T cell depletion of the graft. Previous studies at our institution with high-dose, post-transplantation Cy (PT/Cy) have reported low rates of non-relapse mortality and serious opportunistic infections. Here we characterize immune reconstitution in fifty-three consecutive hematologic malignancies patients receiving nonmyeloablative conditioning, T cell-replete, HLA-haploidentical bone marrow transplantation (BMT), and graft versus host disease prophylaxis including PT/Cy. Patients with advanced hematologic malignancies (median age 51, range 14–71; 5 AML, 2 ALL, 4 MDS, 2 CML, 4 CLL, 1 CMML, 25 NHL, 7 Hodgkins, 3 mantle cell) received Cy 14.5 mg/kg/day IV on days −6 and −5, fludarabine 30 mg/m2/day IV on days −6 to −2, 200 cGy of TBI on day -1 and T cell replete bone marrow from donors with a median age of 44 (range 14–68). GVHD prophylaxis consisted of Cy (50 mg/kg/day) on days 3 and 4, mycophenolate mofetil for 30 days, and tacrolimus for 6 months. Grafts contained an infused median TNC/kg of 4.1 e8 (range 2.6–6.6 e8), CD3+/kg 3.6 e7 (range 1.7–6.7e7) and a CD34+/kg of 3.5e6 (range 1.4–7.0e6). Sustained engraftment of donor cells occurred in 86% of evaluable patients (44/51).The median times to neutrophil (>500/μL) and platelet recovery (>20,000/μL) were 17 days (range, 13–92 days) and 28 days (range, 13–580 days), respectively. Post-transplantation recovery of lymphocyte subsets is shown in Table 1 and Figure 1 and is notable for the following: 1) The median lymphocyte count at day 30 after transplantation is >180/ml and recovers to over 800/ml by day 60; 2) CD4+ T cell counts recover to a median >120/ml by day 60 and >220/ml by day 180 after transplantation; and 3) recovery of CD31+ recent thymic emigrants and CD45RA+ naïve T cells is delayed compared to recovery of memory T cells. T cell receptor spectratyping analysis on a subset of 10 patient/donor pairs chosen specifically for having no relapse/no GVHD (n=4), GVHD and no relapse (n=3), or late relapse (n=3) revealed that patients without relapse, GVHD, or recent viral infection had excellent reconstitution of the T cell repertoire to the level of the pre-transplant donor, as early as 6 months post-transplant (Figure 2). CMV specific T cell response using ELISPOT measured on a subset of 17 patients whose donors were reactive to CMV, revealed that donor-derived immunity to CMV returns by Day 60 in about 70% of patients (12/17) (Figure 3). In conclusion, immune reconstitution after non-myeloablative haploidentical T cell replete BMT with PT/Cy compares favorably with other reduced intensity conditioning alternative donor regimens and suggests that PT/Cy selectively preserves pathogen-specific memory T cells necessary to protect against infection. Further correlations of immune reconstitution with specific infectious and overall outcomes are being analyzed.Figure 1T-, B-, and NK-cell ReconstitutionFigure 1. T-, B-, and NK-cell ReconstitutionFigure 2T cell receptor spectratypingFigure 2. T cell receptor spectratypingFigure 3CMV-specific T cell frequencyFigure 3. CMV-specific T cell frequencyTable 1.Post-transplantation Lymphocyte Subset RecoveryMedian (cells/μL) (N)Interquartile range (cells/μL)ALCDonor1765 (46)1480–2100Recipient pre-BMT840 (45)425–1295Day 30184 (49)54–402Day 60820 (38)470–1260Day 180915 (34)670–1560Day 3653060 (22)820–2030CD3+CD4+CD45RA+ (naïve)Donor119 (33)82–189Recipient pre-BMT22 (34)4–38Day 300.33 (35)0.07–1Day 603 (29)1–9Day 18011 (23)5–31Day 36523 (13)13–92CD3+CD4+CD45RA−CCR7+ (central memory)Donor135 (33)95–158Recipient pre-BMT54 (34)11–79Day 302 (35)0.5–11Day 6034 (29)10–79Day 18061 (23)35–117Day 36589 (13)60–122CD3+CD4+CD45RA−CCR7− (effector memory)Donor187 (33)130–245Recipient pre-BMT87 (34)14–134Day 303 (35)1–18Day 6059 (29)14–122Day 180102 (23)43–179Day 365142 (12)64–204CD3+CD4+CD45RA+CD31+ (recent thymic emigrants)Donor61 (33)30–97Recipient pre-BMT6 (34)1–16Day 300.9 (35)0.03–0.4Day 601 (29)0.5–2Day 1804 (23)1–11Day 3657 (13)2–12CD3+CD4+Foxp3+Donor28 (33)23–35Recipient pre-BMT13 (34)6–24Day 301 (35)0.1–5Day 608 (29)4–16Day 18013 (23)7–25Day 36514 (13)7–17ALC, absolute lymphocyte count; WBC, white blood cell count; Treg, regulatory T cell

Disclosures:

Jones: Aldagen: Patents & Royalties.