title: Soluble tumor necrosis factor-receptors are not a useful marker of acute allograft rejection: a study in patients with renal or cardiac allografts.
abstract: In this study, we investigated soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor (sTNF-R) levels in plasma of patients with either a kidney or cardiac allograft when clinical suspicion of acute rejection was raised. In plasma of patients with acute renal graft rejection, the sTNF-R levels were strongly enhanced (20-150 ng/ml) as compared to plasma of patients with stable renal function. Following successful treatment of the rejection, a gradual decline in sTNF-R levels occurred with improving renal function, and an inverse correlation between creatinine clearance and sTNF-R was found. To determine whether the increase was caused by an accumulation of constitutively released sTNF-R and lack of clearance by the kidney, or whether the immunological process of the rejection caused the enhancement, we measured sTNF-R in patients suffering from acute cardiac graft rejection but with predominantly stable kidney function. Rejection of a cardiac graft did not lead to a significant enhancement of sTNF-R levels. However, treatment with ATG or OKT3 did cause enhanced sTNF-R levels, followed by a decline that reached starting values after 7 days. These results provide evidence that the immune reaction that occurs during rejection of a graft does not per se induce discernible changes in sTNF-R levels, whereas that induced by ATG or OKT3 does. Thus, sTNF-R levels are not reliable marker in transplant recipient monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, University of Limburg, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Leeuwenberg
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Froon
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Vaessen
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Hoitsma
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Abramowicz
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: van Hooff
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Buurman
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000097:blood* / Q000517:prevention & control; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor