Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (4)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Grunewald, R. W.
Right arrow Articles by Müller, G. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Grunewald, R. W.
Right arrow Articles by Müller, G. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Nephrol Dial Transplant (2000) 15: 71-77
© 2000 European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association

Soluble CD-4 and CD-8 as markers of immunological activation in renal transplant recipients

R. Willi Grunewald, G. Martin Fiedler, Birgit Stock, Julia M. Grunewald and Gerhard A. Müller

Division of Nephrology and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Göttingen, Germany

Correspondence and offprint requests to: R. W. Grunewald, Zentrum Innere Medizin, Abteilung Nephrologie und Rheumatologie, Universitätsklinik Göttingen, Robert Koch Straße 40, D-37075 Göttingen, Germany.

Background. T lymphocytes are activated following kidney transplantation in cases of acute graft rejection and viral infections. In plasma, elevated levels of T-cell markers can be measured in soluble form. The reason for this shedding is still not entirely understood.

Methods. Plasma concentrations of soluble CD-4 and CD-8 (sCD-4, sCD-8) were determined in 78 patients following kidney transplantation by commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kits.

Results. The concentrations of both soluble T-cell markers increased significantly in the course of acute allograft rejections and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections. Frequently, the parameters increased shortly before clinical diagnosis and decreased under successful therapy. Additionally, sCD-8 showed significant higher plasma concentrations in cases of CMV infection as compared with acute allograft rejections. Accordingly, the sCD-4/sCD-8 ratio increased in cases of acute allograft rejection and decreased during CMV infections. Cyclosporin A nephrotoxicity caused no significant changes in the sCD-4 and sCD-8 levels in plasma.

Conclusion. The present study demonstrates that sCD-4 and sCD-8 are markers of immunological activation and may enable a further differentiation of T-cell activation if serial measurements are performed. However, further prospective investigations are necessary to elucidate the diagnostic potential of sCD-4 and sCD-8 for monitoring acute rejection and viral infection in kidney graft recipients.

Keywords: CMV infection; cyclosporin A nephrotoxicity; immune monitoring; renal allograft rejection; soluble CD-4; soluble CD-8


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Nephrol Dial TransplantHome page
C. Grupp, U. Hemprich, H. John, F. Braun, T. Lorf, V. W. Armstrong, B. Sattler, B. Ringe, and G. A. Muller
Lectin staining for urine cytologic monitoring after kidney transplantation
Nephrol. Dial. Transplant., August 1, 2002; 17(8): 1491 - 1496.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.