Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42208939›Full record

ArticleTransplantation and cellular therapy2026

Desmosine as a Novel Biomarker Candidate for Pulmonary and Cutaneous Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease.

Aaron T Zhao, Filip Pirsl, Jackie Parkin, Alain Mina, Rania Hishmeh, Noa G Holtzman, Eduard Schulz, Steven Z Pavletic, Najla El Jurdi

Abstract read
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Article in Transplantation and cellular therapy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Aaron T ZhaoImmune Deficiency Cellular Therapy Program, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland.
Filip PirslImmune Deficiency Cellular Therapy Program, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland.
Jackie ParkinMereo BioPharma Group PLC, London, UK.
Alain MinaImmune Deficiency Cellular Therapy Program, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland.
Rania HishmehImmune Deficiency Cellular Therapy Program, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland.
Noa G HoltzmanImmune Deficiency Cellular Therapy Program, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland.
Eduard SchulzImmune Deficiency Cellular Therapy Program, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland; Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Steven Z PavleticImmune Deficiency Cellular Therapy Program, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland.
Najla El JurdiImmune Deficiency Cellular Therapy Program, Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland. Electronic address: najla.eljurdi@nih.gov.

Funding

NIH Chronic GVHD Study GroupZIABC011743 · NCI · DIVISION OF BASIC SCIENCES - NCI · PI PAVLETIC, STEVEN · 2016 to 2025
$10.2M
Intramural NIH HHS ZIA BC011743
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pulmonary and cutaneous fibrotic manifestations are common in chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) and can significantly reduce patients' quality of life and functional status. Plasma desmosine (pDES), a byproduct of elastin breakdown, may serve as a biomarker for fibrotic tissue involvement in cGVHD. The primmary objective was to evaluate the association between plasma desmosine levels and pulmonary and cutaneous manifestations in patients with cGVHD. We measured pDES levels in 81 cGVHD patients enrolled in the NIH cGVHD Natural History Study using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Patients were evaluated for bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) according to NIH consensus criteria, lung involvement using FEV1-based NIH lung cGVHD scores, and skin sclerosis as defined by NIH skin feature scores. Statistical analyses included logistic and linear regression, adjusted for relevant covariates. The median pDES level was 0.39 ng/mL, with 77% of patients exceeding the upper limit of normal (0.280 ng/mL). No significant association was observed between pDES levels and BOS diagnosis (odds ratio [OR]: 1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.89-1.52, P = .31). Among patients with skin sclerosis, 84% had elevated pDES levels compared with 67% of those without sclerosis. Similarly, 82% of patients with impaired lung function had elevated pDES levels versus 56% of those with normal lung function. On multivariate analysis, each 0.1 ng/mL increase in pDES was associated with a twofold increase in the odds of impaired lung function (OR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.13-3.91; P = .032) and higher odds of skin sclerosis (OR: 1.36, 95% CI 1.02-1.92; P = .048). Elevated pDES levels were significantly associated with pulmonary function impairment and skin sclerosis in cGVHD, supporting the potential role of desmosine as a biomarker of organ involvement. Although these findings should be interpreted cautiously, they provide a strong rationale for evaluation in larger, prospective cohorts. Future studies are warranted to validate these observations and to clarify the potential utility of pDES as a prognostic biomarker, as well as its role in monitoring disease progression and treatment response.

Indexed as

BiomarkerBronchiolitis obliterans syndromeChronic graft-versus-host diseaseDesmosineSkin sclerosis

Identifiers

PMID42208939
PMCPMC13403212

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.