Over the past decades, hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has been used for the treatment of more than one and a half million people with a wide range of malignant and non-malignant hematological disorders. With the advance of novel gene-editing technologies, HCT applications will expand to an even wider range of diseases. However, while this treatment has the potential to save lives, its use is limited only to a small fraction of patients and it is often considered as the last option due to high treatment-related mortality. In contrast to the relatively early recovery of platelets, erythrocytes, and most of the leukocytes involved in innate immunity, recipients of an allogeneic (allo)-HCT experience prolonged post-transplant deficiency in the recovery of the adaptive immunity. Defective quantitative and qualitative immune recovery is associated with an increased risk of severe infections, malignant disease relapse, increased mortality risk following graft-versus-host disease, adverse clinical outcomes, and it impairs the application of immunotherapeutic strategies, such as vaccination against microbes or tumor antigens.
While over the past years several strategies and molecules have been identified, at present there is no standard of care approach to enhance post-transplant immune reconstitution. The identification of such approaches can significantly improve patient quality of life and survival following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. In this Research Topic, we would like to highlight studies investigating the mechanisms of immune reconstitution and approaches that can promote the endogenous process of lymphopoiesis in transplanted patients. This includes mechanistic studies on the process of thymic and T cell reconstitution as well as on the recovery of B cells and humoral immunity. We are also particularly interested in studies investigating the use of novel allo-HCT platforms that can safely restore immunity early after transplantation through the manipulation of the hematopoietic cell graft or the infusion of specific cell products post-transplant.
We welcome the submission of Original Research, Reviews, and Mini-Reviews articles, which cover, but are not limited to, the following topics:
• Approaches to enhance the endogenous process of T cell development, from the regeneration of thymic function to the transplant of thymus-like scaffolds.
• Mechanistic studies on B cells and on the kinetics of humoral immune recovery.
• HCT platforms designed to restore early immunity through the use, for instance, of graft manipulation or post-transplant infusion of specific cell products
• Vaccine strategies (including SARS-CoV-2) in the HCT context
• Studying the mechanisms of immune reconstitution using advanced immune monitoring approaches in order to adapt therapy to the patient and improve clinical outcomes.
• Conditioning approaches that can limit lymphoid organ toxicity and promote faster immune recovery
We acknowledge the initiation and support of this Research Topic by the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS). We hereby state publicly that the IUIS has had no editorial input in articles included in this Research Topic, thus ensuring that all aspects of this Research Topic are evaluated objectively, unbiased by any specific policy or opinion of the IUIS.
Topic Editor Marcel Van Den Brink has received research support and stock options from Seres Therapeutics and stock options from Notch Therapeutics and Pluto Therapeutics; he has received royalties from Wolters Kluwer; he has consulted, received an honorarium from, or participated in advisory boards for Seres Therapeutics, WindMIL Therapeutics, Rheos Medicines, Merck & Co, Inc., Magenta Therapeutics, Frazier Healthcare Partners, Nektar Therapeutics, Notch Therapeutics, Forty Seven Inc., Ceramedix, Lygenesis, Pluto Therapeutics, GlaskoSmithKline, Da Volterra, Novartis (Spouse), Synthekine (Spouse), and Beigene (Spouse); he has IP Licensing with Seres Therapeutics and Juno Therapeutics. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests.
Over the past decades, hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has been used for the treatment of more than one and a half million people with a wide range of malignant and non-malignant hematological disorders. With the advance of novel gene-editing technologies, HCT applications will expand to an even wider range of diseases. However, while this treatment has the potential to save lives, its use is limited only to a small fraction of patients and it is often considered as the last option due to high treatment-related mortality. In contrast to the relatively early recovery of platelets, erythrocytes, and most of the leukocytes involved in innate immunity, recipients of an allogeneic (allo)-HCT experience prolonged post-transplant deficiency in the recovery of the adaptive immunity. Defective quantitative and qualitative immune recovery is associated with an increased risk of severe infections, malignant disease relapse, increased mortality risk following graft-versus-host disease, adverse clinical outcomes, and it impairs the application of immunotherapeutic strategies, such as vaccination against microbes or tumor antigens.
While over the past years several strategies and molecules have been identified, at present there is no standard of care approach to enhance post-transplant immune reconstitution. The identification of such approaches can significantly improve patient quality of life and survival following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. In this Research Topic, we would like to highlight studies investigating the mechanisms of immune reconstitution and approaches that can promote the endogenous process of lymphopoiesis in transplanted patients. This includes mechanistic studies on the process of thymic and T cell reconstitution as well as on the recovery of B cells and humoral immunity. We are also particularly interested in studies investigating the use of novel allo-HCT platforms that can safely restore immunity early after transplantation through the manipulation of the hematopoietic cell graft or the infusion of specific cell products post-transplant.
We welcome the submission of Original Research, Reviews, and Mini-Reviews articles, which cover, but are not limited to, the following topics:
• Approaches to enhance the endogenous process of T cell development, from the regeneration of thymic function to the transplant of thymus-like scaffolds.
• Mechanistic studies on B cells and on the kinetics of humoral immune recovery.
• HCT platforms designed to restore early immunity through the use, for instance, of graft manipulation or post-transplant infusion of specific cell products
• Vaccine strategies (including SARS-CoV-2) in the HCT context
• Studying the mechanisms of immune reconstitution using advanced immune monitoring approaches in order to adapt therapy to the patient and improve clinical outcomes.
• Conditioning approaches that can limit lymphoid organ toxicity and promote faster immune recovery
We acknowledge the initiation and support of this Research Topic by the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS). We hereby state publicly that the IUIS has had no editorial input in articles included in this Research Topic, thus ensuring that all aspects of this Research Topic are evaluated objectively, unbiased by any specific policy or opinion of the IUIS.
Topic Editor Marcel Van Den Brink has received research support and stock options from Seres Therapeutics and stock options from Notch Therapeutics and Pluto Therapeutics; he has received royalties from Wolters Kluwer; he has consulted, received an honorarium from, or participated in advisory boards for Seres Therapeutics, WindMIL Therapeutics, Rheos Medicines, Merck & Co, Inc., Magenta Therapeutics, Frazier Healthcare Partners, Nektar Therapeutics, Notch Therapeutics, Forty Seven Inc., Ceramedix, Lygenesis, Pluto Therapeutics, GlaskoSmithKline, Da Volterra, Novartis (Spouse), Synthekine (Spouse), and Beigene (Spouse); he has IP Licensing with Seres Therapeutics and Juno Therapeutics. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests.
