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The intestine is vulnerable to chemotherapy-induced toxicity due to its high epithelial proliferative rate, making gut toxicity an off-target effect in several cancer treatments, including conditioning regimens for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). In allo-HCT, intestinal damage is an important factor in the development of Graft-versus-Host Disease (GVHD), an immune complication in which donor immune cells attack the recipient’s tissues. Here, we developed a novel human intestinal organoid-based 3D model system to study the direct effect of chemotherapy-induced intestinal epithelial damage on T cell behavior. Chemotherapy treatment using busulfan, fludarabine, and clofarabine led to damage responses in organoids resulting in increased T cell migration, activation, and proliferation in ex-vivoco-culture assays. We identified galectin-9 (Gal-9), a beta-galactoside-binding lectin released by damaged organoids, as a key molecule mediating T cell responses to damage. Increased levels of Gal-9 were also found in the plasma of allo-HCT patients who later developed acute GVHD, supporting the predictive value of the model system in the clinical setting. This study highlights the potential contribution of chemotherapy-induced epithelial damage to the pathogenesis of intestinal GVHD through direct effects on T cell activation and trafficking promoted by galectin-9.

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Background Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) is a rare lysosomal disorder. Patients suffer from relentless neurological deterioration leading to premature death. Recently, new treatment modalities, including gene therapy and enzyme replacement therapy, have been developed. Those advances increase the need for high-quality research infrastructure to adequately compare treatments, execute post-marketing surveillance, and perform health technology assessments (HTA). To facilitate this, a group of MLD experts started the MLD initiative (MLDi) and initiated an academia-led European MLD registry: the MLDi. An expert-based consensus procedure, namely a modified Delphi procedure, was used to determine the data elements required to answer academic, regulatory, and HTA research questions. Results Three distinct sets of data elements were defined by the 13-member expert panel. The minimal set (n = 13) contained demographics and basic disease characteristics. The core set (n = 55) included functional status scores in terms of motor, manual, speech and eating abilities, and causal and supportive treatment characteristics. Health-related quality of life scores were included that were also deemed necessary for HTA. The optional set (n = 31) contained additional clinical aspects, such as findings at neurological examination, detailed motor function, presence of peripheral neuropathy, gall bladder involvement and micturition. Conclusion Using a modified Delphi procedure with physicians from the main expert centers, consensus was reached on a core set of data that can be collected retrospectively and prospectively. With this consensus-based approach, an important step towards harmonization was made. This unique dataset will support knowledge about the disease and facilitate regulatory requirements related to the launch of new treatments.

BACKGROUND: Mucormycosis is classified as the third leading cause of invasive fungal disease in immunocompromised patients and is characterized by high morbidity and mortality (33%-56%). The aim of this study is to describe presentation, treatment and outcome of Dutch pediatric hemato-oncology patients recently diagnosed with mucormycosis and to review the literature to gain more insight specifically into contemporary outcome data. METHODS: Ten cases were diagnosed in the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology from 2018 to 2021 and were retrospectively reviewed. In addition, 9 case series (n = 148) were included from literature. RESULTS: In our case series, 5 patients of 10 children (age 2-17 years) had disseminated invasive fungal disease. Four patients had localized pulmonary disease and 1 had a localized renal infection. One diagnosis was made postmortem. The underlying diseases were acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 6), acute myeloid leukemia (n = 2) and lymphoma (n=2). Seven patients received combination therapy comprising of a lipid amphotericin B formulation and a triazole, surgery was performed in 67%. All neutropenic patients received granulocyte transfusions and/or granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Mucormycosis-related mortality was 20%. In the literature review, mucormycosis-related mortality was 36% for all patients and 66% for patients with disseminated disease. Survival rates were similar over the past 2 decades. The most common underlying disorder was acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Liposomal amphotericin B was the mainstay of treatment. Seventy percent of patients underwent surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Although survival of mucormycosis improved significantly overtime, it plateaued in the past decades. This series shows that with screening, early diagnostics and early antifungal and if possible surgical treatment, mortality is low and even disseminated disease is salvageable if approached aggressively with a combination of surgery and antifungal treatment. Further research focused on diagnostics, combination antifungal and adjunctive therapy is necessary to enhance the survival of mucormycosis in children.

BackgroundAutologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (autoHSCT) is increasingly being recognized as a treatment option for severe refractory autoimmune diseases (AD). However, efficacy is hampered by high relapse rates. In contrast, allogeneic HSCT (alloHSCT) has high potential to cure AD, but is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and data in AD are limited. Experience with autoHSCT in relapsing polychondritis, a rare episodic inflammatory disorder characterized by destruction of cartilage, is scarce and alloHSCT has not been described before.Case PresentationHere, we present a case of a 9-year-old girl who was diagnosed with relapsing polychondritis, with severe airway involvement requiring a tracheostomy. The disease proved to be steroid-dependent and refractory to a wide array of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and biologicals. After an autoHSCT procedure, the disease became inactive for a short period of time, until the patient experienced a relapse after 31 days, accompanied by repopulation of effector/memory CD8+ T cells. Because of persistent inflammation and serious steroid toxicity, including severe osteoporosis, growth restriction, and excessive weight gain, the patient was offered an alloHSCT. She experienced transient antibody-mediated immune events post-alloHSCT, which subsided after rituximab. She ultimately developed a balanced immune reconstitution and is currently still in long-term disease remission, 8 years after alloHSCT.ConclusionThis case adds to the few existing reports on autoHSCT in relapsing polychondritis and gives new insights in its pathogenesis, with a possible role for CD8+ T cells. Moreover, it is the first report of successful alloHSCT as a treatment for children with this severe autoimmune disease.

Additional file 1: Search strings. Additional information about literature review

Additional file 2: Flow chart. Additional information about literature review.

Additional file 4: Complete core and optional set of data elements. Complete lists of data elements.

Additional file 3: Levels of evidence and Summary tables literature review. Levels of Evidence according to The Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine. Level 6 was added to take the input from patients and caregivers into account. Summary table of reviewed full texts.

Introduction Omidubicel, an advanced cell therapy used for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant has demonstrated faster hematopoietic recovery, shorter hospitalization, and lower rates of bacterial, viral, and invasive fungal infections compared with umbilical cord blood (UCB) in a phase III randomized trial (NCT02730299;Blood 2021;138:1429). Objective The objective was to compare changes in health-related quality of life (HRQL) between treatment groups in the phase III trial. Methods Patients who received protocol-defined treatment and provided HRQL evaluations at baseline and ≥1 follow-up visit were analyzed. Outcomes included Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy General (FACT-G) domain scores for physical, social/family, functional and emotional well-being, and EQ-5D-3L index scores, at days 42, 100, 180, and 365 post-transplant. HRQL changes from baseline were compared using mixed effect models with repeated measures, adjusting for age, sex, race, region, primary diagnosis, HCT comorbidity index, and baseline HRQL score. Average HRQL over time was compared using the area under the curve (AUC) of mean HRQL trajectories in each treatment group. Results Seventy-five patients (omidubiceln = 37, UCB n = 38) provided HRQL data for inclusion and were representative of the full randomized population (N = 125) at baseline. Median age was 38 years, and 41% were female. During the first year post-transplant, patients receiving omidubicel had numerically superior average FACT-G domain and EQ-5D-3L index scores compared with UCB, with mean differences across time points ranging from 1.4 to 3.1 for physical well-being, 0 to 1.3 for social/family well-being, 0.5 to 1.4 for emotional well-being, 1.6 to 3.2 for functional well-being, and 0.03 to 0.09 for the EQ-5D-3L index score. Minimal clinically important differences (MCIDs) were exceeded at ≥1 time point for mean physical and functional well-being (MCIDs = 2 units) and for the EQ-5D-3L (MCID = 0.07 units). Initial mean declines in HRQL occurred for all measures at day 42 and were consistently numerically smaller in the omidubicel group than in the UCB group. Averaging across the first year post-transplant, patients receiving omidubicel had significantly improved HRQL for physical and functional well-being domains (P < .05 for comparison of AUCs). Discussion Along with faster time to engraftment, lower infection risk, and shorter hospitalization, omidubicel was associated with meaningfully greater preservation or improvement of important HRQL domains compared with UCB.

Omidubicel (nicotinamide-expanded cord blood) is a potential alternative source for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) when an HLA-identical donor is lacking. A phase I/II trial with standalone omidubicel HCT showed rapid and robust neutrophil and platelet engraftment. In this study, we evaluated the immune reconstitution (IR) of patients receiving omidubicel grafts during the first 6 months post-transplant, as IR is critical for favorable outcomes of the procedure. Data was collected from the omidubicel phase I-II international, multicenter trial. The primary endpoint was the probability of achieving adequate CD4+ T-cell IR (CD4IR: > 50 x 10(6)/L within 100 days). Secondary endpoints were the recovery of T-cells, natural killer (NK)-cells, B-cells, dendritic cells (DC), and monocytes as determined with multicolor flow cytometry. LOESS-regression curves and cumulative incidence plots were used for data description. Thirty-six omidubicel recipients (median 44; 13-63 years) were included, and IR data was available from 28 recipients. Of these patients, 90% achieved adequate CD4IR. Overall, IR was complete and consisted of T-cell, monocyte, DC, and notably fast NK- and B-cell reconstitution, compared to conventional grafts. Our data show that transplantation of adolescent and adult patients with omidubicel results in full and broad IR, which is comparable with IR after HCT with conventional graft sources.

BackgroundWe examined the impact of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) bloodstream infection (BSI) on outcomes of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) utilizing the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research database.MethodsAdult and pediatric patients (N = 7128) who underwent first HCT for acute leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome from 2008 through 2012 were analyzed as 3 groups-VRE BSI, non-VRE BSI, without BSI-according to BSI status at 100 days (D100) after allogeneic HCT. Multivariable models examined the effect of VRE BSI for overall survival (OS) and nonrelapse mortality (NRM) at 1 year.ResultsOf 7128 patients, 258 (3.2%) had VRE BSI, 2398 (33.6%) had non-VRE BSI, and 4472 (63%) had no BSI. The median time to VRE BSI and non-VRE BSI were D11 and D15, respectively. Compared with non-VRE BSI patients, VRE BSI patients were older, had advanced-stage acute leukemia, and received umbilical cord blood (UCB) allografts. In multivariable models, VRE BSI was associated with lower OS (relative risk [RR], 2.9;(99% confidence interval [CI], 2.2-3.7) and increased NRM (RR, 4.7; 99% CI, 3.6-6.2) (P < .0001) for both. Other predictors for worse OS and increased NRM were non-VRE BSI, older age, advanced disease stage, UCB allograft, - mismatch, comorbidity index ≥3, and cytomegalovirus seropositivity (P < .001 for all variables).ConclusionsVRE BSI is associated with lowest OS and highest NRM compared with patients without BSI or non-VRE BSI. Novel interventions that address the pathophysiology of VRE BSI have the potential of improving survival after HCT.

Additional file 3: Table S2. Overview of the noted peripheral nerve abnormalities in metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD). Findings are presented separately by MLD type and stage of disease whenever possible. The number of studied MLD patients is displayed between parentheses. The number of studied nerves per patient differed between and within reports and is therefore not noted. Type of inclusions are categorized as zebra bodies, tuffstone bodies, lamellar bodies, prismatic bodies, granular bodies by the reviewers based on the descriptions given in the original reports.â the g-ratio is the degree of myelination which is estimated by dividing the axon diameter by the myelinated fiber diameter.Abbreviations: A-MLD: adult MLD; CNS: central nervous system; J-MLD; juvenile MLD; LI-MLD: late-infantile MLD; PNS: peripheral nervous system.

Additional file 2: Table S1. Clinical spectrum of metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD). Most prominent symptoms during natural disease course are reported per MLD type. The worldwide contribution of MLD types to all MLD cases is displayed between parentheses in the upper row but varies between different populations.

Additional file 1: The full search strategy used to write this systematic review.

Additional file 5: A more detailed description of literature cases treated with immunomodulatory drugs.

Additional file 4: Table S3. Ongoing clinical trials on metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD). A summary of the ongoing clinical trials on treatment for metachromatic leukodystrophy, that are published on https://clinicaltrials.gov/ . Abbreviations: ASA: arylsulfatase A; BMT: bone marrow transplant; cDNA: complementary deoxyribonucleic acid; HSC-GT: hematopoietic stem cell-directed gene therapy; PBSCT: peripheral blood stem cell transplant; HCT: hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; UCB: umbilical cord blood.

Successful immune reconstitution (IR) is associated with improved outcomes following pediatric cord blood transplantation (CBT). Usage and timing of anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG), introduced to the conditioning to prevent graft-versus-host-disease and graft failure, negatively influences T-cell IR. We studied the relation between ATG exposure, IR and clinical outcomes. All pediatric patients receiving a first CBT between 2004-2015 at the University Medical Center Utrecht were included. ATG-exposure measures were determined with a validated PK-model. Main outcome of interest was early CD4+ IR, defined as CD4+ T-cell counts over 50x10(6)/L twice within 100 days after CBT. Other outcomes of interest included event free survival (EFS). Cox proportional-hazard and Fine-Gray competing-risk models were used. A total of 137 patients, median age of 7.4 years (range 0.2-22.7), were included, of whom 82% received ATG. Area under the curve (AUC) of ATG after infusion of the CB transplant predicted successful CD4+ IR. Adjusted probability on CD4+ IR was reduced with 26% for every 10 points increase in AUC after CBT (hazard ratio (HR) 0.974, p