Donor-derived IL-15 is critical for acute allogeneic graft-versus-host disease

Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a pleiotropic proinflammatory cytokine with inefficient posttranscriptional processing. We hypothesized that endogenous IL-15 could affect disease progression in the well-described C57Bl/6 (B6)-->(C57Bl/6 x DBA/2) F1 hybrid (B6D2F1) murine model of acute allogeneic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). B6D2F1 allogeneic recipients received transplants of IL-15(-/-) B6 bone marrow cells or B6 bone marrow cells expressing a murine IL-15 transgene (IL-15 tg) modified for efficient translation and secretion. Mice that received transplants of IL-15(-/-) B6 bone marrow cells displayed a significantly longer median survival time (MST) compared with mice that received transplants of wild-type (wt) B6 bone marrow; in contrast, mice that received transplants of IL-15 tg B6 bone marrow cells had a dramatically decreased MST. This decrease in survival was associated with a substantial activation and expansion of effector-memory (CD44highCD62Llow) CD8+ T lymphocytes. Finally, in vivo depletion of either CD4+ or CD8+ T lymphocyte subsets significantly prolonged survival in mice receiving IL-15 tg B6 marrow, while depletion of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells provided complete protection from acute GVHD. We thus show that acute GVHD is attenuated in the absence of donor bone marrow-derived IL-15 and conclude that donor-derived IL-15 is a critical mediator of T-cell function in acute GVHD.