Activating killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor haplotype influences clinical outcome following HLA-matched sibling haematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Abstract

Natural killer cells are thought to influence the outcome of haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), impacting on relapse, overall survival, graft vs host disease (GvHD) and the control of infection, in part through the complex interplay between the large and genetically diverse killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) family and their ligands. This study examined the relationship between KIR gene content and clinical outcomes including the control of opportunistic infections such as cytomegalovirus in the setting of HLA-matched sibling HSCT in an Australian cohort. The presence of the KIR B haplotype which contain more activating receptors in the donor, in particular centromeric B..