Immune functions of cord blood cells before and after transplantation

There have been numerous reports of decreased acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease in patients receiving HLA-matched or HLA-disparate umbilical cord transplants. It has been proposed that this may be due to the unique properties of the neonatal immune system, which permit the development of tolerance to alloantigens. This review discusses experimental evidence contrasting the immune functions of cells derived from cord blood and those from peripheral blood.