Comparison of T cell responses in patients with a long-term surviving renal allograft versus a long-term surviving liver allograft. It's a different world.
The aim of the present study was to analyze whether acquired transplantation tolerance had developed in patients with a long-term surviving renal or liver allograft. Analysis of antidonor cytotoxic T cell precursor frequencies was performed in 31 renal allograft recipients and 9 liver allograft recipients with good graft function 2 years after transplantation. The results demonstrated that, before transplantation, normal antidonor T cell responses were generated in both groups of patients. Two years after transplantation, donor-specific CTL nonresponsiveness had developed in a minority of the renal transplant recipients. In contrast, 8 out of 9 liver transplant recipients showed donor-specific mixed lymphocyte culture and CTL nonresponsiveness. These findings indicate that development of donor-specific T cell nonresponsiveness is not a common event after kidney transplantation, whereas liver transplantation seems to induce, at least in vitro, a state of donor-specific T cell nonresponsiveness.
van Twuyver
E
E
Department of Transplantation Immunology, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
de Hoop
J
J
ten Berge
R J
RJ
Wilmink
J M
JM
Lems
S P
SP
van de Berg
A P
AP
Slooff
M J
MJ
de Waal
L P
LP
D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D006085:Graft Survival; D006648:Histocompatibility; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D007959:Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D013997:Time Factors