Gene expression data from human circulating myeloid-derived suppressor cells

αβT cell- and B cell-depleted HLA-haploidentical haematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a life-saving therapeutic option to treat patients with high-risk leukemia. The G-CSF treatment stimulates mobilization from the bone marrow to blood of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), and this manipulated graft also contains mature donor-derived NK and γδT cells, both exerting graft-versus-leukemia activity and control of infections at early stages after transplantation. The G-CSF-induced mobilization in the donor causes relevant increases of different myeloid cells, including polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSC). PMN-MDSC are present in high proportions in the graft and exert a sharp inhibition on the effector functions of co-infused mature NK cells. Conversely, low frequencies of PMN-MDSCs are detected in the blood of non-mobilized healthy donors. We used microarray technology to identify possible differences in the transcriptional programme of PMN-MDSCs isolated from blood of G-CSF mobilized donors as compared to those of non-mobilized healthy individuals. PMN-MDSC were purified after density gradient centrifugation and immune-capture with CD66b beads from blood of 8 mobilized donors upon G-CSF treatment and from 5 non-mobilized donors as control group. Cell purity was confirmed by flow cytometry. After RNA extraction, samples were hybridized on Affymetrix GeneChip microarray.