Cutaneous lesions as the presenting sign of acute graft-versus-host disease following liver transplantation

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a frequent complication of bone marrow transplantation but is only rarely observed after solid organ transplantation. We describe a 68-year-old man who developed a maculopapular eruption 7 days following orthotopic liver transplantation for cirrhosis with malignant transformation due to haemochromatosis. At day 20, the patient complained of nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and fever. Skin biopsy revealed a lymphocytic infiltrate at the dermoepidermal interface, vacuolization of basal cells and epidermal dyskeratosis. Immunohistochemistry showed HLA-DR and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression of lesional keratinocytes. HLA-typing of peripheral blood lymphocytes demonstrated circulating lymphocytes of donor origin. Endoscopy revealed extensive erosions of the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum that on histology disclosed multifocal loss of crypts, lymphocytic infiltrates and epithelial cell death. A diagnosis of acute GVHD was made, and high-dose immunosuppressive therapy with azathioprine and methylprednisolone was instituted. The skin and gastrointestinal symptoms subsided within 4 weeks, but the patient died from severe infectious complications 105 days after transplantation. We conclude that acute GVHD is a rare but potentially fatal complication of liver transplantation. Skin lesions are an early sign of acute GVHD and thus represent an important tool for early diagnosis.     

Successful Repigmentation of Vitiligo after Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation for Hodgkin's Lymphoma by Autologous Noncultured Melanocyte-keratinocyte Transplantation

The treatment of vitiligo is derisory since the pathogenesis of vitiligo is not clear at present. Most conservative treatments are difficult to approach satisfactory therapy. So transplantation is the only way left when the disease becomes insensitive to those conservative treatments. Here we describe an 18-year-old patient who developed vitiligo, which was triggered by graft-versus-host disease after a allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for the treatment of Hodgkin''s lymphoma from his sister. In the following treatment to vitiligo, the patient successfully performed the transplantation of autologous uncultured melanocyte on the premise of poor reaction to other conservative methods. We infer that transplantation can be a treatment of the vitiligo after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.     

Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita-like reaction associated with penicillamine therapy for sclerodermatous graft-versus-host disease

A case of a bullous eruption occurred in a patient being treated with penicillamine for sclerodermatous graft-versus-host disease following bone marrow transplantation. After 7 days of treatment with 150 mg penicillamine, a painful bullous eruption with accompanying purpuric lesions suddenly developed in previous sclerodermatous infiltrations. A diagnosis of epidermolysis bullosa acquisita-like eruption was made, and the patient was treated with drug withdrawal and administration of cyclosporine and methylprednisolone. Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita-like reaction is an extremely rare cutaneous side effect of penicillamine. The surprisingly early onset of this eruption in lesions of sclerodermatous graft-versus-host disease might have been due to severe immune alteration.     

Case of insulin edema occurring during intensive insulin therapy after bone marrow transplantation

A 50-year-old female patient, who had had a long-term history of myelodysplastic syndrome and type II diabetes mellitus, had developed acute myelogenous leukemia and received allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). She was being treated with tacrolimus, methotrexate and prednisolone for prophylaxis and treatment of graft-versus-host disease, and with intensive insulin therapy for better glycemic control. The patient suddenly developed marked leg edema at 27 days after starting intensive insulin therapy (on day 40 after BMT) without coexistence or exacerbation of apparent causes such as renal failure, cardiac dysfunction or leg thrombosis around the onset of leg edema. Interestingly, the leg edema regressed soon after daytime hyperglycemia and intensive insulin therapy were performed. Histopathological examination revealed slight dermal edema and small bullae with little inflammatory infiltration but no signs of autoimmune blistering diseases or vasculitis. These findings indicate that the present case may be considered a form of so-called insulin edema occurring during intensive insulin therapy after BMT.     

A case of acute graft-versus-host disease following autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation

A 42-year-old woman developed severe erythema with exfoliative scaling on the bilateral palms and soles and erosive dermatitis on the axillae and groin eight days after an autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She also developed exanthema; however she did not show intestinal, hepatic, or renal involvement. The skin biopsy revealed characteristic apoptotic cell death of the epidermis with eosinophilic necrosis, and she was diagnosed with acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The cutaneous lesions responded to topical corticosteroid treatments and improved within a month without systemic immunosuppressing therapies. The cutaneous GVH reaction did not recur. However, she was treated with an intermittent thrombocyte transfusion because of persistent thrombocytopenia. On day 130, she developed intestinal pneumonia and died due to respiratory dysfunction. Unlike an allo-bone marrow graft, GVHD after an autologous stem cell transplantation is not common. Even for an autologous transplantation, GVH may develop with less characteristic clinical manifestations.     

Acute graft-versus-host disease after liver transplantation diagnosed by fluorescent in situ hybridization testing of skin biopsy specimens

Acute graft-versus-host disease after orthotopic liver transplantation is an underrecognized entity with a guarded prognosis. We describe a patient who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation with an HLA-matched donor liver. She had an uneventful recovery from operation up until day 36 posttransplantation, when she developed a generalized, erythematous, mostly macular eruption, accompanied by ascites, diarrhea, and fever. The diagnosis of graft-versus-host disease was considered but a drug rash could not be excluded. A polymerase chain reaction-based chimerism assay failed to identify donor DNA in peripheral blood. A confirmatory fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis revealed significant numbers of donor lymphocytes in biopsied skin, with lesser amounts in biopsy specimens from the stomach and colon. Despite immunosuppressive treatment, the patient died of overwhelming sepsis 18 weeks after transplantation. We conclude that early testing of skin biopsy specimens using fluorescent in situ hybridization in sex-mismatched patients with orthotopic liver transplantation can serve as an early diagnostic tool for graft-versus-host disease.     

Photoinactivation of T-cell function with psoralen and UVA radiation suppresses the induction of experimental murine graft-versus-host disease across major histocompatibility barriers

Bone marrow transplantation is employed in the treatment of a number of hematologic and malignant diseases. A major complication is the induction of graft-versus-host disease. Whereas removal of T lymphocytes from the donor marrow effectively reduces the incidence of graft-versus-host disease, the incidence of graft failure often increases when T cells are depleted from the transplanted marrow. In the current study, photoinactivation of the donor cells with 8-methoxypsoralen coupled with exposure to long-wavelength ultraviolet radiation (PUVA therapy) was used to inactivate the response of the donor T cells against the host. PUVA therapy suppressed the ability of spleen cells to respond to alloantigen in the in vitro mixed lymphocyte reaction. The induction of acute graft-versus-host disease across complete major histocompatibility barriers in lethally X-irradiated mice was significantly suppressed after bone marrow transplantation with photoinactivated bone marrow cells. Long-term survivors demonstrated allogeneic reconstitution and partial restoration of T-cell function. Because PUVA therapy had no inhibitory effect on hematopoiesis, these data suggest that using phototherapy to inactivate the alloreactivity of T cells may provide an alternative to purging T cells from the donor marrow, thus suppressing both the incidence of graft-versus-host disease and the incidence of graft failure.     

银屑病样表现的移植物抗宿主病1例

报告1例罕见的银屑病样表现的移植物抗宿主病。患者女,35岁,头面部、四肢伸侧、躯干出现红色斑块,上覆银白色鳞屑。患者患急性B淋巴细胞白血病1年余,9个月前行异基因造血干细胞移植术。Auspitz’s阳性。组织病理同时具备银屑病样和界面皮炎样改变。免疫组化CD4⁺T细胞、CD8⁺T淋巴细胞浸润。诊断：银屑病样移植物抗宿主病。外用0.1%他克莫司软膏治疗1周后,皮损明显消退。     

Acquired ichthyosis as a manifestation of acute cutaneous graft-versus-host disease

Acquired ichythosis has been described in adult hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. While some authors have suggested the association of acquired ichythosis with cutaneous graft-versus-host disease, the evidence to support this association is rare. We describe a patient who developed enteritis secondary to acute graft-versus-host disease and had concomitant ichthyosiform lesions. Several months later, he was diagnosed with cutaneous graft-versus-host disease. This patient is presented to suggest that acquired ichthyosis is an underrecognized manifestation of acute cutaneous graft-versus-host disease. Given the important prognostic implications of this diagnosis, we recommend a low threshold for performing a skin biopsy to rule out GVHD in the appropriate clinical setting.     

Atypical acute graft-versus-host disease

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a life-threatening complication of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. It is important to recognize the dermatologic manifestations of acute GVHD, as skin is often the initial organ of involvement. We present a case of acute GVHD characterized by rare clinical and histopathologic findings as only two erythematous nodules clinically and abrupt follicular wall necrosis histopathologically.     

Polymyositis: a manifestation of chronic graft-versus-host disease

Polymyositis developed in a patient who had had bone marrow transplants for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. There was no previous evidence of graft-versus-host disease. Polymyositis has previously been reported to be associated with graft-versus-host disease; this article suggests that polymyositis may represent its sole manifestation.     

Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Possibly Linked to Hyperacute Graft-versus-Host Disease after Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation

Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is a severe blistering skin disease of high mortality. TEN may occur after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). In such cases, TEN have been attributed to graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) or an adverse drug reaction. It is very difficult to distinguish the causes of TEN after BMT. We report a 21-year-old Japanese man who developed TEN eight days after BMT, evaluate the differential diagnosis of hyperacute GVHD and an adverse drug reaction, and deduce that hyperacute GVHD was the more likely pathogenesis of TEN in this patient.     

Primary Sjögren's Syndrome Followed by Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia: A Case Report with a Ten Year History

We describe a female patient with primary Sjögren's syndrome who subsequently developed chronic myelogenous leukemia. The patient received a bone marrow transplant (BMT) from a genotypically HLA-identical brother after pre-transplant preparation with busulfan and cyclophosphamide. Eighteen weeks later, cutaneous and mucosal chronic graft-versus-host disease developed, followed by death 11 months after transplantation. Anti-Ro/SS-A antibodies disappeared within 6 months post-BMT, but antinuclear antibodies remained positive through the post-transplant course.     

Specificity of antinuclear antibodies in scleroderma-like chronic graft-versus-host disease: clinical correlation and histocompatibility locus antigen association

Summary Chronic graft-versus-host disease after bone marrow transplantation presents, in a few cases, as mild to severe scleroderma-like changes. Patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease with and without sclerodermatous skin changes were analysed for antinuclear autoantibodies (ANA) and antinucleolar autoantibodies (ANoA) and the results correlated with disease symptoms and histocompatibility locus antigen (HLA) pattern. Nineteen patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease and scleroderma-like skin changes. 18 with chronic graft-versus-host diseae without scleroderma. and 17 controls on immunosuppressive treatment were screened for ANA and ANoA using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunodiffusion and immunoblot techniques. Four patients with severe scleroderma had antibodies to topoisomerase I. two had antibodies against PM-Scl. both characteristic serological findings in idiopathic systemic scleroderma. One patient had La/SSB antibodies and, in three cases, antibodies to the nucleolar antigen C23 (nucleolin) could be identified. A possible correlation between antinucleolin antibodies and disease activity was observed. HLA-Al. -B1. and -B2 were found significantly more often in patients with scleroderma-like symptoms in comparison to patients without scleroderma-like symptoms. Chronic graft-versus-host disease with seleroderma-like manifestations can be associated with the occurrence of ANA specific for idiopathic scleroderma. The development of seleroderma after bone marrow transplantation might have a HLA-linked genetic background.     

Anatomo-clinical presentation of graft-versus-host disease treated with cyclosporin A

Evaluation of the clinical and histological signs of cutaneous graft-versus-host disease present in 7 patients treated with cyclosporin A was based on a follow-up of 100 days after bone marrow transplantation. Early clinical signs consisted of acral erythema with mild to moderate edema. Histologically, the graft-versus-host reaction was moderate but not completely inhibited. As revealed by autoradiography after labeling with tritiated thymidine and uridine, the lymphoid infiltrate had a low rate of proliferation and a normal or enhanced synthetic activity of ribonucleic acid.     

Histochemical and ultrastructural study of diffuse melanoderma after bone marrow transplantation

Summary Hyperpigmentation is a well-recognized feature of cutaneous graft-versus-host disease (GVHU). and is usually restricted to sites where lichenoid or sclerodermiform lesions have occurred. Since 1975, two of 745 patients treated by allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in our institution have developed diffuse melanoderma which differed considerably from the classic presentations. They both developed acute GVHD. then lichen planus-like chronic lesions and diffuse melanoderma. Histology of biopsies of the pigmented skin showed intense pigment deposition in the basal and suprabasal layers, and in dermal macrophages. On split-dopa, melanocyte counts were 98 and 93 per Held, respectively. Electron microscopy showed melanocytes protruding into the dermis, and dark melanosomes in all epidermal layers and in macrophages. These findings were suggestive of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. In bone marrow recipients, de nova melanoderma is a rare event which could represent a feature of cutaneous GVHD in pigmented subjects.     

Papular urticaria and transfer of allergy following bone marrow transplantation

Skin rashes following allogeneic hone marrow transplantation are common. The majority are either drug reactions or manifestations of acute or chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). We describe a previously unreported manifestion of a donor allergic response pattern in the recipient of an allogeneic hone marrow transplant who presented with papular urticaria in the post-transplant period.     

银屑病合并急性髓细胞白血病一例的治疗观察

目的 报告继发急性髓细胞白血病(M4EO型)的慢性斑块状银屑病1例临床研究及骨髓移植治疗.方法采用临床资料收集,组织病理检查,骨髓和外周血涂片检查,利用流式细胞仪进行细胞免疫分型,用骨髓细胞体外培养做染色体检查及G显带分析.结果患者女,33岁,有寻常性银屑病史20余年,反复出现红斑鳞屑,皮损以斑块为主,有家族史,用多种方法治疗(以中药为主).近来不明原因肌肉酸痛,牙龈出血,发热伴胸骨叩痛.骨髓检查发现异常幼稚单核细胞及早幼粒细胞,并见含有粗大嗜碱颗粒的嗜酸粒细胞,确诊为急性髓细胞白血病M4EO型,经骨髓细胞免疫分型检查符合诊断.骨髓细胞体外培养做染色体检查,+G-显带发现inv(16)的克隆异常和+8克隆异常,染色体核型为46,XX,inv(16)/47,XX,inv(16),+8(2/22).经异基因骨髓移植治疗,银屑病皮损完全消退,急性髓性白血病症状缓解,骨髓异常幼稚细胞减少,病情得到有效控制.结论为国内首例寻常性银屑病(斑块状)继发急性髓细胞白血病M4EO型的临床研究及骨髓移植治疗     

Chronic graft-versus-host reaction following bone marrow transplantation

Chronic graft-versus-host reaction is reported in a 19-year-old woman who developed poikilosclerodermic skin lesions within a few months following transplantation of bone marrow donated by her brother as she had acute lymphatic leukemia. The literature and the various clinical features and cutaneous manifestations of graft-versus-host reactions are reviewed.     

Cutaneous granulocytic sarcoma (chloroma) presenting as the first sign of relapse following autologous bone marrow transplantation for acute myeloid leukaemia

A 25-year-old man suffering from acute myeloid leukaemia developed a solitary lesion on the upper abdominal wall 6 months after receiving an autologous bone marrow transplant. The lesion was a chloroma and proved to be the only evidence of clinical relapse. This is the first reported case of this rare condition occurring following bone marrow transplantation.