Objective: To investigate the expression of T cell receptor (TCR) Vgamma genes in patients with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).
Methods: The expression levels of the TCR Vgamma I-III genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) from 18 patients with GVHD following allo-HSCT were determined using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, with 12 healthy individuals serving as the normal controls.
Results: The expression level of TCR Vgamma II gene in the PBMNCs from patients with GVHD was significant lower than that in the normal controls. The expression patterns of TCR Vgamma I-III subfamilies also underwent alterations in patients with GVHD, and the expression level of TCR Vgamma II gene was significantly lower than that of TCR Vgamma I gene or TCR Vgamma III gene.
Conclusion: The low expression of TCR Vgamma II subfamily might be related to the pathogenesis of GVHD in patients receiving allo-HSCT.