title: Early microchimerism in peripheral blood following kidney transplantation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The role of microchimerism found in the peripheral blood of renal transplant recipients remains a matter of debate. We assessed the frequency of microchimerism after kidney transplantation and examined its influence on clinical courses over a 12-month follow-up period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten single-kidney recipients underwent microchimerism detection at 2 days, 2 weeks, and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after transplantation, with mismatch human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A, -B, and -C used as markers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Microchimerism was detected in 8 (80%) patients at 2 days after kidney transplantation. In 3 of those, microchimerism became negative within 3 months after transplantation, whereas it remained present for up to 12 months in 3 patients (33 %). There was 1 acute rejection episode in a patient in whom microchimerism became negative within 3 months. Protocol renal graft biopsy specimens obtained 3 months after transplantation revealed no acute cellular-mediated rejection (ACMR) or acute antibody-mediated rejection (AAMR) in the 5 patients positive for microchimerism at 3 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Microchimerism was frequently detected after kidney transplantation. Microchimerism that remained for more than 3 months post-transplantation might be correlated with a lower incidence of rejection, thus its monitoring may help identify recipients with a low rejection risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Renal Transplantation Center, Hyogo Prefectural Nishinomiya Hospital, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan. Electronic address: hidefumi69@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kishikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Renal Transplantation Center, Hyogo Prefectural Nishinomiya Hospital, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
authors.affiliation: Department of Renal Transplantation Center, Hyogo Prefectural Nishinomiya Hospital, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yonemoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Renal Transplantation Center, Hyogo Prefectural Nishinomiya Hospital, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Renal Transplantation Center, Hyogo Prefectural Nishinomiya Hospital, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakazawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Renal Transplantation Center, Hyogo Prefectural Nishinomiya Hospital, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.affiliation: Department of Renal Transplantation Center, Hyogo Prefectural Nishinomiya Hospital, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirai
authors.affiliation: Department of Renal Transplantation Center, Hyogo Prefectural Nishinomiya Hospital, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.affiliation: Department of Renal Transplantation Center, Hyogo Prefectural Nishinomiya Hospital, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Renal Transplantation Center, Hyogo Prefectural Nishinomiya Hospital, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D046528:Chimerism; D005260:Female; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006680:HLA Antigens