Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a major complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and a leading cause of non-relapse mortality. Currently, biology-based markers are lacking both for diagnosis and for monitoring the activity of cGVHD.

Seventy patients who received HSCT were enrolled in a pilot study, including 21 without cGVHD and 49 with active or resolved cGVHD. Evaluations were comprised of clinical parameters including cGVHD severity and infections. Peripheral blood cells were analyzed by multi-parameter flow cytometry. The CD19⁺ B cell compartment was further subdivided by staining for surface IgD, CD21 and CD27.

No significant differences in absolute B, T, and NK cell numbers were observed between the groups with and without cGVHD. However, elevated numbers (>15% of B lymphocytes) of immature/transitional CD19+/CD21^- B cells were associated with the occurrence of severe infections (P = .003). Most significantly, all patients with active cGVHD and elevated numbers of CD19⁺/CD21^- B lymphocytes experienced severe infections (P = .00016). The numbers of both non-class-switched and class-switched memory B cells were significantly lower in patients with active cGVHD when compared to patients who never experienced cGVHD (P = .002 and P = .001).

Perturbation of circulating B lymphocyte compartments may serve as a novel biomarker for monitoring cGVHD activity and its impact on the immune system. A prospective study on consecutive patients assessed serially for B cell reconstitution after HSCT is warranted.