Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-induced immature myeloid cells inhibit acute graft-versus-host disease lethality through an indoleamine dioxygenase-independent mechanism

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)-mobilized donor graft tissue used for peripheral blood stem cell transplantation contains a large number of immature myeloid cells that suppress alloreactive donor T cells, resulting in an inhibition of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). However, the molecular mechanism underlying the suppressive function of immature myeloid cells is not fully understood. Here, we investigated whether indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is related to the suppressive mechanism of G-CSF-induced immature myeloid cells (gMCs). We found that Gr-1⁺ CD11b⁺ cells were highly induced in G-CSF-injected donor graft tissue, which is a phenotype of immature myeloid cells, resulting in an inhibition of acute GVHD lethality by suppressing alloreactive donor T-cell expansion. IDO was not detected in primary isolated gMCs; however, this enzyme was markedly induced after treatment with interferon-γ (IFN-γ). This level was significantly higher in IFN-γ-treated gMCs than in bone marrow myeloid cells, which promote alloreactive T-cell responses. We next investigated the functional role of IDO in gMC-mediated inhibition of acute GVHD lethality. We found no changes in gMC-mediated survival or alloreactive donor T-cell suppression when IDO activity was blocked using 1-methyl tryptophan. In addition, there was no difference in gMC-mediated survival rates between recipients transferred with either wild-type gMCs or IDO⁻/⁻ gMCs. Taken together, our data suggest that gMC-mediated inhibition of lethal acute GVHD is through an IDO-independent mechanism.