Association of Donor and Recipient Duffy and Kidd Genotypes with GVHD in Leukemia Patients Undergoing Bone Marrow Transplantation.

[BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE] Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a major complication following allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT), often limiting therapeutic success in leukemia patients. Chemokine receptors, such as those encoded by Duffy (FY) and Kidd (JK) blood group genes, may influence GVHD development by modulating immune cell trafficking. To evaluate the association between donor and recipient Duffy and Kidd genotypes and GVHD incidence in leukemia patients undergoing HLA-identical sibling BMT.

[METHODS] This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed 100 DNA samples from 50 donor-recipient pairs (20 with GVHD, 30 without). Genotyping for FY and JK antigens was conducted using PCR-RFLP. Statistical analysis was performed using chi-square and logistic regression tests in SPSS v19, with significance set at P < 0.05.

[RESULTS] Kidd and Duffy genotype distributions differed between BMT recipients who developed GVHD and those who did not. However, when gender was included as an additional variable, these associations in recipients were no longer statistically significant for either genotype. In donors, neither the Kidd nor the Duffy genotypes showed a significant association with GVHD status overall. Interestingly, when stratified by gender, a significant difference was observed only for the Kidd genotype in donors of GVHD-positive recipients, but not in donors of GVHD-negative recipients. However, multivariate logistic regression did not confirm any independent association between Kidd or Duffy genotypes and GVHD in recipients (OR = 2.94, 95% CI: 0.494-17.49, P = 0.236) or donors (OR = 2.273, P = 0.323).

[CONCLUSION] Kidd and Duffy blood group phenotypes may influence susceptibility to GVHD. Understanding this relationship can support better donor-recipient matching in BMT.