6.583333
#15-OR
IMPACT OF PERIPHERAL BLOOD IL-18 GENE EARLY EXPRESSION ON KIDNEY ALLOGRAFT LONG-TERM OUTCOME.
D. Olga McDaniel Ph.D. 1, Xinchun Zhou M.D., Ph.D. 2, Lee Y. Tee B.S. 1, Larry S. McDaniel Ph.D. 1,3, Lynn Calicote M.D. 1 and William H. Barber M.D., Phill 1. 1 Surgery, University of MS Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA ; 2 Pathology and 3 Microbiology .
Background: Early diagnosis of rejection and adequate treatment are important to the maintenance of allograft function after renal transplantation. It has been shown that cytokine gene expression during the early transplantation provides information to the recipient immunologic responses against allograft. IL-18, which induces IFN-g production through an alternative T-cell stimulation, in association with IFN-g expression may predict early graft rejection or in association with IL-10 may predict stable graft function (SGF). Method: The aim was to determine whether post transplantation production of IL-18 in association with IFN-g or IL-10 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells correlates with long term graft functions. One hundred thirty-three African-American patents were studied. Peripheral blood was tested at day 0, 1, and 7 for measuring cytokine gene expression by semiquantitative RT-PCR. Results: Recipients with delayed graft function who later developed stable graft function (SGF), 62% produced high levels of IL-18 and IL-10, but low IFN-g production. On the other hand, recipients with early SGF, who later developed multiple rejections and returned to dialysis, 58% produced high levels of IL-18 and IFN-g but low production of IL-10 (p<0.009, Relative Risk = 3.67. Conclusions: Combined measurements of peripheral blood IL-18, IFN-g and IL-10 expression might be a useful tool for detection and early diagnosis of rejection episodes.