title: Immunophenotypic shift of memory CD8 T cells identifies the changes of immune status in the patients after liver transplantation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Chronic or acute rejection is a leading cause of allograft loss after solid organ transplantation and the presence of memory T cells is associated with increased propensity for allograft rejection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between immunophenotypic shift of memory CD8+ T cells and immune status in the patients after liver transplantation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-three blood samples were collected and varied compartments of memory CD8+ T cells were analysed in non-rejected and rejected patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results show that with time elapsed, the immunophenotypes of memory CD8+ cells shifted from naive T cells to central or intermediate memory cells, and then to effector or terminal memory cells in non-rejected patients. This course was correlated with the expression of CD127 on CD8+ T cells. In rejected patients, the main proportion of CD8+ cells were dominated by naive CD8+ cells and then rapidly restored to the immunophenotypes of memory T cells after effective treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results demonstrated that immunophenotypic shift of memory CD8+ T cells was closely related to the change of the immune status in the patients after liver transplantation. Monitoring the immunophenotypic shift of memory CD8+ T cells is of great importance in the prediction for allograft rejection and treatment effectiveness after liver transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hepatic Vascular Disease, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, School of Medicine, Zhengzhou.
authors.forename: Yuling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Shengyong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Haiyang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Liming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Shusen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory / Q000276:immunology*; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D010641:Phenotype; D013997:Time Factors