Differential cytokine production associated with distinct phases of murine graft-versus-host reaction.

Previous studies which demonstrated that cytokines such as interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) are essential for the development of graft-versus-host reaction (GvHR) did not establish whether the individual cytokines were responsible for distinct features of the disease. In this report, we show that IFN-gamma production is associated with the early proliferative phase of the disease, whereas the late, destructive phase correlates with production of TNF-alpha. These studies may assist in the development of specific immunotherapies aimed at individual aspects of immunologically mediated disease.