Imbalances within the peripheral blood T-helper (CD4+) and T-suppressor (CD8+) cell populations in the reconstitution phase after human bone marrow transplantation.

Peripheral blood T cell subsets were evaluated in 11 patients during the reconstitution phase after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation and compared with 11 age-matched controls. The proportion of cells coexpressing Leu7 and CD11b (C3bi receptor) markers was determined within the CD4+ (T-helper) and the CD8+ (T-suppressor) subsets by two-color immunofluorescence analysis. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells reached normal or near-normal values within the first year posttransplant. In contrast to normal controls, however, most of the cells in both subsets coexpressed the Leu7 and CD11b markers. T cells with such phenotype display the morphological features of granular lymphocytes (GLs) and a functional inability to produce interleukin 2 (IL 2). These T cell imbalances were not related to graft v host disease (GvHD) or to clinically detectable virus infections and may account for some defects of cellular and humoral immunity that occur after bone marrow transplantation.