Roles of inflammatory cytokines in acute graft-versus-host disease and their mechanisms

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is an effective therapy for the treatment of various malignant and non-malignant hematological diseases. Acute graft-verse-host-disease (aGVHD), a major complication following allo-HSCT, is one of the predominant causes of GVHD-related mortality. The development of aGVHD is a typical pathologic process with the release of inflammatory cytokines in great quantities, resulting in the occurrence of cytokine storm and causing specific pathological damages by attacking the recipient organ. Therefore, identification of biomarkers specific for aGVHD offers promise to the treatment of aGVHD. In this review, we summarizes the functions of several typical inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17A and IL-10, and their mechanisms in the development of aGVHD in order to provide references for the prevention and treatment of aGVHD. Key words: aGVHD; Proinflammator factor; Suppressive factor; Biomarkers; Predictive value