Immunophenotypic shift of memory CD8 T cells identifies the changes of immune status in the patients after liver transplantation.
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.
Sun
Yuling
Y
Institute of Hepatic Vascular Disease, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, School of Medicine, Zhengzhou.
Yin
Shengyong
S
Xie
Haiyang
H
Zhou
Lin
L
Wang
Yan
Y
Wu
Liming
L
Zheng
Shusen
S
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