[Frontiers in Bioscience 14, 2704-2713, January 1, 2009]

Horizontal DNA and mRNA transfer between donor and recipient cells after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation?

Miguel Waterhouse1, Maria Themeli2, Yannis Metaxas1, Eleni D Lagadinou2, Jurgen Finke1, Alexandros Spyridonidis1, 2

1Department of Hematology and Oncology, Albert-Ludwigs University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany, 2Division of Hematology, University of Patras Medical Center, Patras, Greece

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Epithelial chimerism after allogeneic HCT
4. Genomic instability in epithelium after allogeneic HCT
5. Horizontal gene transfer
6. Origin and composition of extracellular genetic material
7. Nucleic acid uptake by the cells
8. Fate of the foreign genetic material within the cell
9. Summary and perspective
10. Acknowledgements
11. References

1. ABSTRACT

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in humans results in true biological chimeras. There is now accumulating evidence that besides Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD), there are also other consequences in the co-existence of two genetically distinct populations in the transplant recipient. First, epithelial cells with donor-derived genotype emerge. Second, epithelial tissues of the host acquire genomic alterations. The current review discusses existing data on these recently discovered phenomena and focuses on horizontal gene transfer between donor and recipient cells as a possible mechanism explaining and linking these phenomena.