Patients on chronic hemodialysis have no intrinsic lymphocyte defect upon stimulation with interleukin-2, interleukin-15 or tumor necrosis factor-alpha.
BACKGROUND
Patients on chronic hemodialysis (HD) suffer from general immune incompetence, resulting in a high incidence of infectious complications, impaired response to vaccinations and a high incidence of malignancy. Although various abnormalities in T cell function of HD patients have been described, it remains unclear whether this is due to an intrinsic T cell defect.


OBJECTIVE
In the present study we tested the capacity of T cells to proliferate upon stimulation with antigen-presenting cell and T-cell-derived cytokines.


METHODS
The proliferation capacity of lymphocytes obtained from patients on HD and healthy controls was determined by measuring the proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) after stimulation with rhIL-2, rhIL-15, rhTNF-alpha, or combination of those cytokines. In all samples the percentage of alpha/beta TCR-positive T cells was measured.


RESULTS
After isolation of PBMC the percentage of T cells varied from 70% (before stimulation) to 80% (after stimulation). IL-2, IL-15 and TNF-alpha all induced PBMC proliferation, while the combination TNF-alpha plus IL-2 or TNF-alpha plus IL-15 appeared to be additive. No difference between PBMC from HD patients and controls was found.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that lymphocytes from HD patients have no intrinsic defects in their proliferation capacity after stimulation with IL-2, IL-15 or TNF-alpha, in vitro, as the increase in counts per minute is predominant.
van Riemsdijk
I C
IC
Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands. vanriemsdijk@inw2.azr.nl
Baan
C C
CC
Loonen
E H M
EH
Zietse
R
R
Weimar
W
W
D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007121:Immunocompetence; D019409:Interleukin-15 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*
D019409:Interleukin-15; D007376:Interleukin-2; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha