Cytomegalovirus-induced gammadelta T cells associate with reduced cancer risk after kidney transplantation.
An increase in the number of blood gammadelta T cells follows cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in kidney transplant recipients. These cells react against CMV-infected cells and tumor epithelial cells in vitro. We hypothesized that these CMV-induced gammadelta T cells play a protective role against cancer in kidney transplant recipients. We performed a longitudinal case-control study involving 18 recipients who developed cancer between 2 and 6 yr after transplantation and 45 recipients who did not. The median percentage of gammadelta T cells among total lymphocytes in patients with malignancies was significantly lower compared with that in control patients at 6, 12, and 18 mo before the diagnosis of cancer. Patients with a gammadelta T cell percentage of more than 4% were protected from cancer. An increase of the Vdelta2(neg) gammadelta T cell subset significantly associated with lower incidence of cancer only in recipients who experienced pre- or postgraft CMV infection. Finally, a retrospective follow-up of 131 recipients for 8 yr revealed that CMV-naive recipients had an approximately 5-fold higher risk of cancer compared with CMV-exposed patients. In summary, these results suggest a protective role of CMV exposure against cancer in kidney transplant recipients.
Couzi
Lionel
L
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 5164, Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, France.
Levaillant
Yann
Y
Jamai
Abdellah
A
Pitard
Vincent
V
Lassalle
Regis
R
Martin
Karin
K
Garrigue
Isabelle
I
Hawchar
Omar
O
Siberchicot
François
F
Moore
Nicholas
N
Moreau
Jean-François
JF
Dechanet-Merville
Julie
J
Merville
Pierre
P
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000502:physiology; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta / Q000378:metabolism*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology
D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta