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Cytokine concentrations and regulatory T cells in living donor and deceased donor liver transplant recipients
Author(s) -
BriemRichter Andrea,
Leuschner Alexander,
Haag Friedrich,
Grabhorn Enke,
Ganschow Rainer
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
pediatric transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.457
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1399-3046
pISSN - 1397-3142
DOI - 10.1111/petr.12044
Subject(s) - medicine , liver transplantation , transplantation , immunology , living donor liver transplantation , cytokine
Outcomes of pediatric liver transplantation have constantly improved in the last decade. Living‐related liver transplantation does not seem to improve long‐term outcomes following liver transplantation, but few studies have evaluated immunological parameters of the alloimmune response after living vs. deceased donor organ transplantation. We analyzed numbers of regulatory T cells, lymphocyte subsets, and serum cytokine concentrations in 12 pediatric recipients of living‐related liver transplants and in 28 pediatric recipients of deceased donor organs during their annual follow‐ups. Transplant recipients who underwent living donor organ transplantation had significantly higher numbers of regulatory T cells and IL ‐4 serum concentrations than recipients of deceased donor organs; both of these factors are associated with beneficial outcomes and transplantation tolerance. Living‐related liver transplantation may have potentially beneficial immunological aspects, although long‐term outcomes do not seem to be better in recipients of living donor organs than in recipients of deceased donor organs. Further studies are needed to compare immunological aspects of the two transplant procedures.