title: Functional and molecular characterization of graft-infiltrating T lymphocytes propagated from different biopsies derived from one heart transplant patient.
abstract: Alloreactive T lymphocytes play an important role in graft rejection. In the present study, we have analyzed the cytolytic capacity against donor cells of graft infiltrating T lymphocyte cell lines, which were propagated from various endomyocardial biopsies taken at different time points after transplantation, including during a rejection crisis. Also, T cell clones were generated from the rejection biopsy and evaluated for their cytolytic capacity and nucleotide composition of the TCR alpha and beta chains. The results of these studies revealed a strong cytolytic activity against donor cells by T cells derived from the rejection biopsy, whereas from the other biopsies, no cytolytic T cell clones could be established. The T cells that were responsible for this activity, as detected by T cell cloning and TCR gene analysis, could not been identified in earlier biopsies, indicating that these cytolytic cells were recently recruited toward the endomyocardium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunohematology and Bloodbank, University Hospital Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Datema
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Vaessen
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Daane
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Baan
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Weimar
authors.forename: F H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Claas
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: van den Elsen
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001706:Biopsy; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D002460:Cell Line; D002999:Clone Cells; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000175:diagnosis; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region / Q000737:chemistry; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta