Up-Regulation of α4β7 Integrin on Peripheral T Cell Subsets Correlates with the Development of Acute Intestinal Graft-versus-Host Disease following Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation

Expression of α4β7 integrin on memory CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells. A, Expression of α4β7 integrin (cells/μL) on memory CD4⁺ T cells. B, Expression of α4β7 integrin (% lymphocytes) on memory CD4⁺ T cells. C, Expression of α4β7 integrin (cells/μL) on memory CD8⁺ T cells. D, Expression of α4β7 integrin (% lymphocytes) on memory CD8⁺ T cells. All values shown are median values. P values from comparisons between groups derived from permutation testing are listed in the text and in Table 2.

Expression of α4β7 integrin on peripheral blood T cell subsets in patients from the control, skin, and gut groups. Thawed mononuclear cells were analyzed for cell surface expression of CD45RO (y-axis) and α4β7 integrin (x-axis). Plots are gated on CD3⁺ lymphocytes based on forward and side scatter and CD3 staining. The numbers indicate the percentage of CD3⁺ lymphocytes for each quadrant. These values are representative patients from within each patient group.

Expression of α4β7 integrin in sigmoid biopsy specimens from patients with intestinal aGVHD. Immunohistochemical staining for α4β7 integrin (brown stain) shows patchy expression of α4β7 integrin on mononuclear cells within the lamina propria (A and B) and as aggregates within small mucosal blood vessels (C, D, and E). Specimens from patients after HSCT who did not have intestinal aGVHD do not show such staining (F and G). See the Immunohistochemistry section of the text for complete descriptions of techniques and image acquisition information.