Analysis of the cytokine production by cord and adult blood

To date, over 400 human umbilical cord blood cord blood (CB) transplants have been reported from different centres world-wide and it is generally agreed that CB represents an encouraging alternative to bone marrow (BM) transplantation. There are a variety of reasons for this which include the wider availability and easier access of CB compared to BM. In addition it has been suggested that there is a reduced graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD) with CB compared to BM transplantation. The explanations for this implied benefit are numerous, but research into this area is only just beginning. Nevertheless, it is clear that both T cells and natural killer (NK) cells have reduced function when isolated from CB compared to adult and both these cell types have been implicated in GVHD pathogenesis. How and why the function is reduced is yet to be determined. Many laboratories have tried to answer these questions and the majority have done this by comparing the function of lymphocytes obtained from adult blood with those compared with CB. Since cytokine production by a cell is an indication of the cells function it is important to determine the differences between adult and CB with respect to production of these soluble factors. Here, we have reviewed the current research regarding these CB and adult cell comparisons with an emphasise on cytokine production. Our aim is to obtain a clearer understanding of the mechanisms which may be involved in causing a reduced GVHD in CB compared to BM transplantation. Human Immunology 60, 331-336 (1999). (C) American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, 1999. Published by Elsevier Science Inc.