Investigation of the effect of donor platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 polymorphism on the graft-vs.-host disease occurrence in Tunisian recipients of hematopoietic stem cells

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to examine the effect of donor PECAM-1 alleles and haplotypes for the SNPs L98V, S536N, and R643G on the occurrence of GVHD in Tunisian recipients of HSCs.Design and methodsThis study enrolled 102 patients and their 102 respective HLA-identical sibling donors of HSCs. The PECAM-1 SNPs genotyping assay was performed using sets of sequence specific primers (SSP-PCR).ResultsThe single marker association analysis showed that the L98 allele, in a recessive genetic model, may be a potential risk factor only for acute GVHD (p = 0.036, OR = 2.580, 95% C.I. = 1.053–6.326). However, the haplotype analysis showed a lack of association between donor's PECAM-1 SNPs and GVHD incidence in recipient.ConclusionThe homozygosity state for donor PECAM-1 L98 allele may be a significant risk factor for acute GVHD. This is probably due to its action on the function of donor leukocytes especially during the extravasation process.