Granulocyte function in human allogenic marrow graft recipients.

Granulocyte chemotaxis and iodination were studied in 87 allogeneic marrow transplant recipients and in 25 normal individuals. Chemotactic responses of marrow transplant recipients as a group were depressed during the first 4 months after transplantation and normal in patients studied as long-term survivors (days 175--2202 post-transplantation). Patients with moderate to severe acute or chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) or infections had lower chemotactic responses than those without. Granulocyte iodination and the ability of patient serum to support iodination were normal. Thus, depressed granulocyte chemotaxis recovered slowly with time following allogeneic marrow transplantation. Both acute and chronic GVHD, however, were associated with impairment of granulocyte chemotaxis, a defect which may contribute to the high risk of infection among allogeneic marrow graft recipients with GVHD.