title: Effect of immunosuppressive therapy for renal allografts on the number of circulating sheep red blood cells rosetting cells.
abstract: Patients receiving renal allografts from relatively incompatible donors were randomly assigned to one of two immunosuppressive regimens: azathioprine and prednisone with or without a 2-week course of horse antihuman thymocyte globulin (ATG). The number of circulating lymphocytes fell to about one-third of pretreatment values in both groups of patients. In patients given ATG, the proportion of sheep red blood cell-rosetting lymphocytes (SRBC-R) fell promptly to less than 10% of pretreatment values. In contrast, the percentage of SRBC-R remained at about 70% in patients receiving only prednisone and azathioprine. The addition of ATG reduced the number of SRBC-R/mm3 to one-tenth to one-thirtieth the number seen in non-ATG-treated patients. Plasma of patients undergoing therapy did not inhibit rosetting in vitro. It is proposed that the monitoring of circulating rosetting cells may be a useful clinical guide to the degree of T cell immunosuppression. It is also suggested that the regimen of azathioprine, prednisone, and ATG results in a more effective suppression of circulating T cells than that produced by azathioprine and prednisone alone.
mesh_terms: D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum / Q000494:pharmacology; D001379:Azathioprine / Q000494:pharmacology; D002469:Cell Separation; D006648:Histocompatibility; D006801:Humans; D007104:Immune Adherence Reaction; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D011241:Prednisone / Q000494:pharmacology; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D001379:Azathioprine; D011241:Prednisone