Donor directed cytotoxicity of cardiac graft infiltrating cells during cytomegalovirus infection.
We investigated whether cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection had an effect on donor directed cytotoxicity of cardiac graft infiltrating cells. The group we studied comprised 89 heart transplant recipients. Thirty eight showed signs of CMV infection, and in 27 of them cytolytic activity of biopsy-derived cultures could be tested during the infection. Fifty-one patients had never had CMV infection, and they were used as the control group. Eight patients had a primary, and 19 a secondary infection. We found that during CMV infection, both primary and secondary, a significantly higher proportion of the biopsy-derived cultures showed cytotoxicity against donor antigens (P < 0.01 when compared to the control group). In secondary infections, this was only due to an increase in donor class I directed cytotoxicity, while in primary infections a significant increase of class II directed cytotoxicity was also found (P < 0.005 when compared to secondary infection).
Ouwehand
A J
AJ
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Erasmus University Rotterdam, University Hospital Rotterdam-Dijkzigt, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Balk
A H
AH
Baan
C C
CC
Daane
C R
CR
Metselaar
H J
HJ
Groeneveld
K
K
Jutte
N H
NH
Bos
E
E
Weimar
W
W
D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology*; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*