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Manifestations of Chronic GVHD in Other Organ Systems

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Pathology of Graft vs. Host Disease

Abstract

Following HSCT, donor T cells reacting to differences in a recipient’s genetically determined histocompatibility antigens cause acute GVHD (aGVHD). The immunologic targets includes the thymus resulting in the generation of autoreactive T cells, which later lead to autoimmune-like manifestations in chronic GVHD (cGVHD). Well-established manifestations of cGVHD include dermal sclerosis, sicca syndrome, and bronchiolitisobliterans syndrome, as well as eosinophilia and thrombocytopenia. This chapter describes several of the infrequent or rare clinical-pathological autoimmune-like findings associated with cGVHD such as polymyositis, myasthenia gravis, and serositis. Much less common, poorly understood, or controversial are coronary arteritis, retroperitoneal fibrosis associated with elevated IgG4, and lymphocytic cerebritis.

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Correspondence to Cecilia C. S. Yeung .

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Yeung, C.C.S., Shulman, H.M. (2019). Manifestations of Chronic GVHD in Other Organ Systems. In: Yeung, C., Shulman, H. (eds) Pathology of Graft vs. Host Disease. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42099-8_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42099-8_20

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