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Soluble interleukin 2 receptor (sIL‐2R) levels in renal transplant recipients
Author(s) -
Mehta Rajil,
Shah Gaurang,
Adler William,
Kittur Dilip
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
clinical transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.918
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1399-0012
pISSN - 0902-0063
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-0012.2004.00221.x
Subject(s) - medicine , interleukin 2 , dialysis , creatinine , transplantation , renal function , gastroenterology , urology , receptor , kidney transplantation , hemodialysis
Background: Allograft rejection is associated with T cell activation. T cell activation leads to secretion of soluble IL‐2 receptor and elevated serum soluble IL‐2 receptor (sIL‐2R) levels. However, the clinical implication of individual elevated sIL‐2 receptor levels is unclear. We followed levels of sIL‐2R pre‐ and post‐transplantation to determine if sIL‐2R levels predict rejection episodes or degree of graft function. Materials and methods: Serum samples of 12 patients who underwent living or cadaveric renal transplant were followed weekly with serial sIL‐2R levels. These levels were followed until the serum creatinine reached a baseline. Of the 12 patients, three patients developed delayed graft function. The remaining nine patients were followed for a period of 3 months. Sera of these nine patients in the initial 3 months post‐transplant were monitored for sIL‐2R levels. For comparison, sIL‐2R levels were also measured in 150 healthy volunteers and five dialysis patients. Results: Recipients undergoing severe rejection episodes had higher overall serum levels of sIL‐2R (1515 ± 496 U/mL) as compared with recipients who had stable renal transplants and no episodes of rejection (698 ± 333 U/mL) ( P = 0.034). Comparison of sIL‐2R ratios (post‐transplant sIL‐2R level/pre‐transplant sIL‐2R level) revealed that ratios of 0.6 or higher were more frequently seen in patients who subsequently underwent severe rejection episodes. Dialysis patients were found to have higher sIL‐2R levels (2605 ± 1312 U/mL) compared with renal transplant patients (1047 ± 192 U/mL) ( P < 0.001) and healthy volunteers (349 ± 185 U/mL) ( P < 0.001). Conclusion: Our results suggest that individual levels of sIL‐2R are not predictive of rejection in the early post‐transplant period, but s‐IL2R ratios greater than 0.6 may be predictive of severe rejection episodes.