Human cytomegalovirus specific CD8(+) T lymphocytes display interferon-gamma secretion impairment in kidney transplant recipients with pp65 antigenemia.
Our study sought to investigate the immune response of cytotoxic T lymphocytes to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in kidney transplant recipients with virus reactivation. Nine kidney transplant recipients with serum HCMV immunoglobulin G and HLA-A 0201 genotype displayed HCMV pp65 antigenemia and were compared with 29 control recipients who were free of antigenemia. The frequency of total HCMV-specific cytotoxic T cells was determined using HLA-A2-NLVPMVATV-pentamer staining. The frequency of HCMV specific interferon (INF)-gamma secreting CD8(+) T cells was determined using intracellular INF-gamma staining after NLVPMVATV pulsing in vitro. The proportion of IFN-gamma secreting pentamer-stained CD8(+) T cells was calculated, representing the capacity for INF-gamma secretion among HCMV-specific CD8(+) T cells. We observed that the frequency of HCMV-specific pentamer-stained CD8(+) T cells and HCMV-specific IFN-gamma secreting CD8(+) T cells both remained unchanged, yet the proportion of IFN-gamma secreting CD8(+) T cells showed a significant difference between the 2 groups (39.2% +/- 17.2% vs 20.0% +/- 13.3% respectively; P = .004), reflecting impaired IFN-gamma secreting capacity of HCMV-specific CD8(+) T cells among kidney transplant recipients displaying antigenemia, which may be a crucial reason for HCMV reactivation in immunosuppressed patients.
Yang
R
R
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China. yangruifeng103@sohu.com
Xia
T
T
Xu
G
G
Li
Z
Z
Ying
Z
Z
Xu
X
X
D000328:Adult; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors; D017735:Virus Latency; D014779:Virus Replication
D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D007371:Interferon-gamma