MSCs Combined With CD25 Monoclonal Antibody and Calcineurin Inhibitors for Treatment of Steroid-resistant aGVHD

The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of CD25 monoclonal antibody and calcineurin inhibitors with or without mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in treating patients with steroid-resistant acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is an effective therapy for several hematological disorders. Although good progress has been made in the prevention and treatment of side effects associated with transplantation, aGVHDremains a common and life-threatening complication with poor prognosis. Corticosteroids are still acted as the first-line treatments of aGVHD, with a response rate of 50-80. However, those who failed to initial therapy only have 10-30% long-term survival. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are a form of multipotent adult stem cells that can be isolated from many tissues, such as bone marrow (BM), adipose tissue and umbilical cord. Such cells possess the capacity to suppress immunological responses, support hematopoiesis and repair tissues. Clinical applications of human MSCs are evolving rapidly for preventing and treating GVHD. Although the results are still controversy, most prospective and retrospective data suggest that MSCs are effective to aGVHD. In the present study, the investigators will prospectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of ex-vivo-expanded BM-derived MSCs from third-party donors combined with CD25 monoclonal antibody and calcineurin inhibitors in treating patients with aGVHD.