Memory CD4⁺ T cells do not induce graft-versus-host disease
J. Clin. Invest. Britt E. Anderson, et al. 112:101 doi:10.1172/JCI17601 [Go to this article.]

Figure 6
Donor memory cells engraft and respond to antigenic challenge. B10.D2 mice were immunized intraperitoneally with CGG in CFA and used 3 weeks later as CD4⁺ cell and BM donors. ATX BALB/c mice were irradiated and reconstituted with 8 × 10⁶ T cell–depleted BM cells with no CD4 cells (thin dashed line, n = 9), 1.5 × 10⁶ unfractionated CD4 cells (thin solid line, n = 17), or 10⁶ CD4⁺CD25^– memory cells (thick line, n = 14). Incidence of GVHD (a). P < 0.001 for GVHD incidence in recipients of CD25^– memory cells versus total CD4 cells. Transplanted memory cells respond to CGG (b). Thirty-seven days after the transplant, recipients and unmanipulated ATX BALB/c mice were immunized with CGG or PCC in CFA. Two weeks later, draining LN cells were collected, depleted of residual recipient cells, and rechallenged with 50 μg CGG in vitro in a standard proliferation assay. Cells were pooled from all animals (n = 3–7) of an experimental group: untransplanted ATX control, BM alone, BM plus unfractionated CD4 cells, BM plus CD25^–CD4⁺ memory cells. Background counts (no antigen) were subtracted from plotted data. P = 0.0002 for proliferation to CGG for BM plus memory cells versus BM plus unfractionated CD4 cells. P < 0.0001 for BM plus memory cells versus BM alone. Error bars indicate standard deviation of samples run in triplicate.