Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Integrating killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor high-resolution genotyping for predicting transplant outcomes in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Published inHaematologica, vol. 111, no. 3, p. 971-980
Publication date2026-03-01
First online date2025-07-10
Abstract

The success of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) partly relies on the beneficial graft-versus-leukemia effect, mediated by alloreactive NK cells through their killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR). Conflicting results have been reported regarding the impact of the KIR immunogenetic system on HSCT outcomes with a scarcity of data interrogating the effect of KIR allelic polymorphism. With the aim to fill this gap, donor KIR genes derived from a national cohort of 1247 HLA-matched transplanted donor/recipient pairs were determined at a high-resolution and tested in Cox proportional hazards models. Donor/recipient (D/R) pairs bearing a KIR2DS4*00101 - HLA-C1/C2/A11 interaction showed a significant detrimental impact on progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), transplant-related mortality (TRM) and chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) in multivariable analysis. Strong KIR2DL2/L3 - HLAC1 and especially KIR2DL3*00501 and *015 interactions showed a significant increase in the incidence of cGvHD compared to missing ligand D/R pairs. Highly inhibiting KIR3DL1 - HLA-B and HLA-A (Bw4) interactions were associated with a reduced relapse incidence as compared to weak and non-inhibiting interactions. Our study indicates that high-resolution KIR genotyping informs post-transplant outcomes with a seemingly higher protection of educated NK cells.

Keywords
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Female
  • Genotype
  • Graft vs Host Disease / etiology
  • Graft vs Host Disease / genetics
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / adverse effects
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / methods
  • Humans
  • Killer Cells, Natural / immunology
  • Killer Cells, Natural / metabolism
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prognosis
  • Receptors, KIR / genetics
  • Transplantation, Homologous
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Young Adult
Funding
  • NIAID NIH HHS [U01 AI090905]
Citation (ISO format)
SCHAEFER, Antonia Marie et al. Integrating killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor high-resolution genotyping for predicting transplant outcomes in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In: Haematologica, 2026, vol. 111, n° 3, p. 971–980. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2024.287061
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
Identifiers
Additional URL for this publicationhttps://haematologica.org/article/view/12166
Journal ISSN0390-6078
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4downloads

Technical informations

Creation06/11/2025 08:18:01
First validation14/07/2026 06:56:44
Update14/07/2026 06:56:44
Status update14/07/2026 06:56:44
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