Acute graft-vs.-host disease correlates with the disparity for the PECAM-1 S536N polymorphism only in the HLA-B44-like positive Tunisian recipients of HSCs

GVHD is the major cause of mortality after HLA-identical HSCT. Such complication has been widely linked to donor/recipient disparity for minor histocompatibility antigens (MiHAgs). PECAM-1 is one of potential human MiHAgs but its effect on the GVHD occurrence remains not clear. In order to examine such association in the Tunisian cohort of HSCs recipients, we performed a retrospective study on patients who undergone HLA-identical HSCT between 2000 and 2009. Genotyping of the three selected PECAM-1 polymorphisms (rs668, rs12953 and rs1131012) was performed with SSP-PCR method. Univariate analyses showed that grades II–IV acute GVHD were considerably linked to the non-identity for rs12953 only in HLA-B44-like positive patients (p = 0.010, OR = 10.000). Multivariate analysis for chronic GVHD showed that this outcome may be affected only by the adulthood and the conditioning regimen. Our findings support the previously reported data suggesting a significant association between the PECAM-1 disparity and the risk of acute GVHD.