Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase is a critical regulator of acute graft-versus-host disease lethality.

ABSTRACT: Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is initiated after activation of donor T cells by host antigen-presenting cells (APCs). The immunosuppressive enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is expressed by APCs and parenchymal cells and is further inducible by inflammation. We investigated whether lethal conditioning and GVHD induce IDO and if IDO prevents tissue injury by suppressing immune responses at the induction site. We determined that IDO is a critical regulator of GVHD, most strikingly in the colon, where epithelial cells dramatically up-regulated IDO expression during GVHD. IDO(-/-) mice died more quickly from GVHD, displaying increased colonic inflammation and T-cell infiltration. GVHD protection was not mediated by control of T-cell proliferation, apoptosis, or effector mechanisms in

SUBMITTER: Jasperson LK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2265461 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature