Reshef Lab Study in Nature Immunology Tracks the T Cells Behind Severe Graft-versus-Host Disease
The laboratory of Dr. Ran Reshef has published a new study in Nature Immunology that sheds light on how the immune cells responsible for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) cause damage after stem cell transplantation.
The team followed disease-causing T cells in 31 transplant recipients over time. They found that the cells responsible for severe GVHD can persist, adapt once they enter the gut, and gather around vulnerable intestinal stem cells.
The study offers a new way to connect what immune cells are doing in the blood with where they ultimately cause tissue damage. This could open the door to earlier prediction and more targeted treatment of GVHD.
References
Shi L, Uzuni A, Wang XK, et al., Azizi E, Reshef R. Spatiotemporal single-cell profiling reveals T cell clonal dynamics and phenotypic plasticity in human graft-versus-host disease. Nature Immunology. 2026;27(10):2156–2171. doi:10.1038/s41590-026-02631-2