title: Evaluation of the immune function assay in pediatric living donor liver transplantation.
abstract: The immune function (ImmuKnow) assay is a measure of cell-mediated immunity based on the peripheral CD4+ T cell ATP activity. The efficacy of ImmuKnow in pediatric LDLT is not well documented. The aim of this study was to assess the correlations between the ImmuKnow and the clinical status in pediatric LDLT recipients. A total of 716 blood samples were obtained from 60 pediatric LDLT recipients (one month to 16 yr of age). The recipient's status was classified as follows: stable, infection, or rejection. The ImmuKnow values in the pediatric LDLT recipients with a clinically stable status had a lower immune response (IQR 85-297 ATP ng/mL) than that previously reported in adults. Meanwhile, the ImmuKnow values of the stable patients were not correlated with age. Furthermore, a significant difference was found in the ImmuKnow values between the bacterial or fungal infection and stable groups, but not between the CMV or EBV infection and stable groups. The ImmuKnow levels in the pediatric LDLT were lower than those observed in the adult LDLT. The proposed reference value is between 85 and 297 ATP ng/mL in pediatric LDLT recipients. We conclude that the ImmuKnow assay could be helpful for monitoring pediatric LDLT recipients with bacterial or fungal infections.
authors.affiliation: Transplantation Center, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Akinari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Ken-Ichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imadome
authors.forename: Seisuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: Takanobu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shigeta
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsunami
authors.forename: Kengo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kanazawa
authors.forename: Fuyuko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.forename: Atsuko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakazawa
authors.forename: Shigeyoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: Mureo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kasahara
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000737:chemistry; D000293:Adolescent; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D017093:Liver Failure / Q000276:immunology* / Q000601:surgery*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012016:Reference Values; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate
keywords: T lymphocytes; immune responses; infectious risk; living donor liver transplantation; pediatric liver transplantation; rejection