Replacement therapy with plasma-derived factor VIII concentrates induces skew in T-cell receptor usage and clonal expansion of CD8+ T-cell in HIV-seronegative hemophilia patients

Thromb Haemost. 2003 Aug;90(2):279-92. doi: 10.1160/TH02-12-0302.

Abstract

Replacement therapy with factor VIII (FVIII) products causes immune abnormalities in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seronegative hemophilia patients. However, the question remains why an absolute increase in the number of CD8+ T-cells and diminished proliferation responses of lymphocytes to antigen stimulation in vitro occurs in HIV-seronegative hemophilia patients. To examine whether the FVIII products induce skewing of T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoires, TCR variable region alpha-chain and beta-chain repertoires were analyzed for peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 15 hemophilia patients treated with heated and/or non-heated plasma-derived FVIII concentrates and 10 age-matched healthy adults. Also, T-cell clonality was compared between these groups using complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) size spectratyping. The skewing of TCR repertoires was significantly greater for hemophilia patients than healthy controls. The extent of T-cell clonality was greater for hemophilia patients than the controls, indicating that clonal T-cells frequently expanded in hemophilia patients. The skew in TCR usage and clonal expansion were primarily observed in patients treated with non-heated plasma-derived products. The spectratyping and sequencing of CDR3 regions revealed that the clonal expansion of T-cells was observed for CD8+ T-cells, but not CD4+ T-cells. These results suggest that extensive expansion of CD8+ T-cells is induced by some viruses other than HIV present in FVIII preparations, and the resulting accumulation of CD8+ T-cells is responsible for changes in peripheral T-cell population in HIV-seronegative hemophilia patients.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / pathology*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cell Division
  • Child
  • Clone Cells / pathology
  • Complementarity Determining Regions
  • Factor VIII / adverse effects*
  • Factor VIII / therapeutic use*
  • HIV Seronegativity
  • Hemophilia A / therapy*
  • Hemophilia A / virology
  • Humans
  • Monocytes / metabolism
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / blood*

Substances

  • Complementarity Determining Regions
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta
  • Factor VIII