E-ROSETTE FORMING CELL NUMBERS IN BLOOD OF HUMAN RENAL-ALLOGRAFT RECIPIENTS

  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 27  (3) , 454-463
Abstract
The incidence of circulating T [thymus-derived] lymphocytes (ET-RFC [total sheep erythrocyte rosette forming cells]) and a sub-population of T lymphocytes (EE-RFC) were monitored in the blood of 71 cadaver renal allograft recipients for the first 2 mo. after transplantation. In patients with uneventful post-operative courses, the incidence of ET-RFC and EE-RFC [early E-RFC] fell promptly upon initiation of immunosuppression, returning approximately to pre-operative levels 3-5 wk after the operation; the fall in cell numbers was greatest in those patients receiving adjunct ALG [anti-lymphocyte globulin] therapy. With the onset of an acute rejection episode, the EE-RFC level rose quickly, eventually exceeding the pre-operative level; in 88% (30 episodes) of the cases, this rise occurred 1-6 days before clinical diagnosis of rejection, and in 12% of the cases the rise occurred on the same day as clinical diagnosis. The incidence of ET-RFC rose in conjunction with some cases of acute rejection but remained unchanged in other cases. Measurement of the incidence of EE-RFC in blood is apparently valuable in predicting the onset of acute rejection and for the differential diagnosis of acute rejection and ischemic renal damage.