Sensitivity of Whole-Blood T Lymphocytes in Individual Patients to Tacrolimus (FK 506): Impact of Interleukin-2 mRNA Expression as Surrogate Measure of Immunosuppressive Effect

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Abstract
Background: To optimize immunosuppressive treatment in individual transplant patients, functional measurements of the effects of tacrolimus (FK 506) are of clinical importance. Previous investigations have demonstrated the occurrence of tacrolimus-resistant production of interleukin-2 (IL-2) in vitro, which may explain in part why rejection episodes are still a frequent problem despite attainment of therapeutic blood concentrations and HLA matching. However, an adequate surrogate marker to define the tacrolimus response in individual patients has not been established.