Lipid levels increase to the normal range after nonmyeloablative hematopoietic cell transplantation for sickle cell disease.

Background: Individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) have a unique type of dyslipidemia characterized by low total cholesterol (TC), low low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), and normal triglycerides (TG). This lipid state is theorized to be cardioprotective against atherosclerosis. In SCD, hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) offers a potentially curative therapy. Long-term survivors of HCT for hematologic malignancies are at increased risk for dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis long-term. The effects of HCT on SCD dyslipidemia are unknown.

Objective: This retrospective cohort study characterizes lipid profiles at baseline and after nonmyeloablative allogeneic HCT for SCD.

Study design: We analyzed data from 116 patients after nonmyeloablative HLA-matched sibling or haploidentical HCT for SCD at the NIH from 2009 to 2021. Total cholesterol, HDL-c, LDL-c, and TG were collected pre-HCT, one year post-HCT, and annually thereafter. Data were analyzed using linear generalized estimating equation regression modeling.

Results: Successful HCT was associated with a rise in TC, LDL-c, and HDL-c and a decline in TG post-HCT. After HCT, previously low lipid levels increased to the normal range. These changes occurred within the first year of HCT and were maintained thereafter. In patients with graft failure, TC and LDL-c levels remain unchanged from their pre-HCT baseline. Sirolimus use for graft versus host disease prophylaxis was associated with higher TG levels.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that SCD dyslipidemia resolves with reversal of the SCD phenotype. The normalization of lipid parameters suggests SCD patients are not at increased risk for atherosclerosis after successful HCT compared to their peers; further studies with longer follow-up are required.