High frequency of IL‐4 producing helper T lymphocytes associated with a reduced incidence of heart allograft rejection

• Published in: Transplant international Vol. 13; no. S1; pp. S216 - S224
• Main Authors: Hoffen, E., Polen, E., Robertus‐Teunissen, M., Jonge, N., Lahpor, J.R., Gmelig‐Meyling, F.H.J., Weger, R.A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.06.2000
• Subjects: Cytotoxicity; Graft rejection; Heart transplantation; Interleukin 2; Interleukin 4; Limiting dilution analysis; Lymphocytes T; Nonresponsiveness; Peripheral blood; pHTL
• ISSN: 0934-0874; 1432-2277
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1432-2277.2000.tb02023.x

The reduction in the frequency of rejection episodes several months after heart transplantation (HTX) correlates with the development of donor‐specific nonresponsiveness. This is reflected in a reduced frequency of donor‐specific cytotoxic T cells (CTL) in the peripheral blood. We investigated whether the reduced CTL frequency and the incidence of rejection episodes coincided with a change in the frequency of either IL‐2‐ or IL‐4‐producing helper T lymphocytes (HTL). We measured the frequency of HTL before and at several time points after HTX in the blood of ten recipients, using limiting dilution analysis for IL‐2 and IL‐4. In most patients, HTL frequencies dropped immediately after transplantation, but returned to pre‐HTX values later after transplantation. No consistent decrease or increase in frequencies was observed long after HTX. In contrast to IL‐2, the HTL frequencies for IL‐4 before transplantation were significantly higher in patients without post‐HTX rejection episodes requiring treatment than in patients with such episodes. This phenomenon was observed for the in vitro responses towards both donor and third‐party cells. In conclusion, relatively high frequencies of IL‐4‐producing T cells may have a beneficial effect on the outcome of human heart transplantation, because they are associated with a reduced incidence of rejection episodes after transplantation.