title: [Changes of peripheral blood CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells and TREG-related Foxp3 gene expression at the onset of chronic allograft nephropathy].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the changes of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells (TREG) and TREG-related foxp3 gene expression in the peripheral blood at the onset of chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) after kidney transplantation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-five patients with initial onset of CAN were examined for CD4(+)CD25(+)high/CD4(+) ratio and the expression of Foxp3 gene in the peripheral blood using the flow cytometry, and the data were compared with those of 30 kidney recipients with normal graft function, 20 patients with chronic renal function (CRF), and 20 normal subjects. All the recipients had no more than 1 HLA mismatch and received the same inductive and maintenance drug treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The recipients with CAN had significantly lower CD4(+)CD25(+)high/CD4(+) ratio and Foxp3 gene expression compared with those with normal graft function (0.71∓0.33 vs 1.17∓0.25 and 62.75∓10.80 vs 70.42∓6.8, respectively, P<0.01). The recipients with normal renal graft function showed no significant difference in CD4(+)CD25(+)high/CD4(+) ratio and Foxp3 gene expression from the normal control subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The peripheral blood CD4(+)CD25(+)high/CD4(+) ratio and Foxp3 expression in the kidney recipients with CAN are significantly lower than those of recipients with normal renal graft function, which does not correlate with elevated creatinine level, suggesting a role of TREG in the occurrence and development of CAN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kidney Transplantation, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China. ducf@fimmu.com
authors.forename: Chuanfu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: DU
authors.forename: Lixin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Shaojie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit / Q000378:metabolism; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C418974:FOXP3 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D053645:Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit