Characterization of CD28(-)CD4(+) T cells in living kidney transplant patients with long-term allograft acceptance.
CD28(-)CD4(+) T-cell subpopulation is expanded in kidney allograft patients with long graft survival. To seek for the roles of CD28(-)CD4(+) T cells in the long-term acceptance of kidney allografts, we characterized this population by analyzing cell surface molecules, TCR V(beta) repertoire, mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR), and cytokine production. The number of CD28(-)CD4(+) T cells increased correlatively with time after transplantation in this group of patients. The CD28(-)CD4(+) T cells did not express detectable levels of CD25, CD69, V(alpha)24, or CTLA-4 but expressed heterogeneous amounts of CD45 RA on the surface. Freshly sorted CD28(-)CD4(+) T cells revealed a restricted V(beta) repertoire, whereas the V(beta) usage of CD28(+)CD4(+) T cells from the same patients was much diversified. Expression levels of TGF-beta and IFNgamma gene were significantly higher in the CD28(-) CD4(+) T cells than in the CD28(+)CD4(+) T cells from the kidney allograft patients. These findings suggest that an oligoclonal CD28(-) CD4(+) T-cell population is continuously activated in patients with long allograft survival, which may be linked with the long-term acceptance.
Kato
M
M
Department of Urology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Matsuguchi
T
T
Ono
Y
Y
Hattori
R
R
Ohshima
S
S
Yoshikai
Y
Y
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018106:CD28 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D007959:Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000032:analysis; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
D018106:CD28 Antigens; D016207:Cytokines; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta