Neither acute rejection nor immunosuppressant drug therapy (cyclosporine or tacrolimus) correlates with expression of either CD40 or CD154 on peripheral blood cells among human cardiac transplant patients.
Acute allograft rejection (AAR) is an important cause of graft loss following heart transplantation (HT). Increasing evidence shows that CD40-CD154 interactions play a central role in the immune processes leading to AAR. In this study we investigated the expression of CD40 and CD154 on peripheral blood cells from HT patients so as to determine possible association with AAR. Using two-color flow cytometry, we determined the expression of CD40 and CD154 in 102 samples of peripheral blood taken from 53 adult HT patients and in 17 samples from healthy adult volunteers. Samples from patients were obtained at the same time as endomyocardial biopsy was performed. We analyzed the relationships between the expression of these molecules and the following parameters: immunosuppressive treatment (cyclosporine vs tacrolimus), gender, age, time post-HT, and AAR (indicated by an ISHLT rating > or =3A). The percentages of HT patients' blood samples showing above-normal CD40 or CD154 expression did not differ significantly from those of controls. The percentage of patients' samples showing above-normal CD40 expression decreased with time after HT. Expression of these molecules was not above normal during rejection episodes, and for neither was there any statistically significant correlation between expression level and the immunosuppressor drug.
Domenech
N
N
Research Unit, CHU Juan Canalejo, A Coruña, Spain.
Crespo-Leiro
M G
MG
Moscoso
I
I
Paniagua
M J
MJ
Naya
C
C
Muñiz
J
J
Vazquez-Rodriguez
J M
JM
Castro-Beiras
A
A
D000328:Adult; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000097:blood; D001706:Biopsy; D019013:CD40 Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000276:immunology*; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D008875:Middle Aged; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D015703:Antigens, CD; D019013:CD40 Antigens; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016572:Cyclosporine; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens; D016559:Tacrolimus