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Changes in the skin microbiome may contribute to the development of GVHD after stem cell transplantation
Up to 70 percent of patients experience organ damage in the first few months after a stem cell transplant. The exact reasons for this potentially life-threatening reaction have long been the subject of scientific research. Researchers led by Georg Stary from the University Clinic for Dermatology at MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital in collaboration with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases recently identified bacterial proliferation on the skin as a factor associated with the occurrence of the complication. The findings recently published in the journal “Leukemia” contribute to the research and development of new therapeutic approaches. The researchers came to their findings...
Changes in the skin microbiome may contribute to the development of GVHD after stem cell transplantation
Up to 70 percent of patients experience organ damage in the first few months after a stem cell transplant. The exact reasons for this potentially life-threatening reaction have long been the subject of scientific research. Researchers led by Georg Stary from the University Clinic for Dermatology at MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital in collaboration with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases recently identified bacterial proliferation on the skin as a factor associated with the occurrence of the complication. The findings recently published in the journal “Leukemia” contribute to the research and development of new therapeutic approaches.
The researchers came to their findings by examining the skin of 50 patients, most of whom had received a stem cell transplant (SCT) for leukemia at the University Clinic for Bone Marrow Transplantation at the University Clinic for Internal Medicine I at MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital. In the first weeks or months after receiving the donor's stem cells, some subjects experienced a donor-versus-recipient reaction (graft-versus-host disease, GVHD). When the microorganisms on the skin (skin microbiome) of those affected were precisely analyzed, the research team led by first author Nadine Bayer and study leader Georg Stary from MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital found a drastic decrease in the frequency of bacteria. “The reduction in proliferation was particularly pronounced in severe GvHD cases – even before symptoms appeared,” Georg Stary reported on key findings. At the same time, the scientists observed an increased occurrence of staphylococci, i.e. bacteria that can cause serious infections, on the skin of patients with GvHD.
The reaction almost always affects the skin
Despite careful examination of the tissue properties of stem cell donors and recipients as well as preventive medication, GVHD occurs in around 30 percent of patients after sibling donations and in around 70 percent of patients after donations from third-party donors. This reaction leads to body cells being attacked as foreign by newly created immune cells from the transplant and organs being damaged. The complication almost always affects the skin: The first symptoms are usually skin rashes, which, depending on the severity, can manifest themselves as slight redness or severely inflamed skin changes with detachment of the top layer of skin.
Medical research already knew that the composition of the intestinal microbiome influences the clinical course after a stem cell transplant. Identifying the skin microbiome in GvHD provides scientists with another tool to research and develop improved treatment measures.
Follow-up studies will now show whether the change in the skin microbiome may contribute to the development of GvHD and whether new therapeutic approaches can be identified from the knowledge gained.”
Georg Stary, head of studies
Looking to the future, Georg Stary also works at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases.
Source:
Reference:
Bayer, N., et al. (2022) Disturbances in microbial skin recolonization and cutaneous immune response after allogeneic stem cell transfer. Leukemia. doi.org/10.1038/s41375-022-01712-z.
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