Subject(s)
Cytotoxicity, Immunologic/physiology , Hyperthermia, Induced , Major Histocompatibility Complex/immunology , T-Lymphocytes/immunology , Cell Division , Cell Survival , Cells, Cultured , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Humans , Interferon-gamma/analysis , Killer Cells, Lymphokine-Activated/immunology , Lymphocyte Activation/immunologyABSTRACT
Lipid peroxidation and vitamin E levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were studied in 10 patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Significant increases of PBMC malonyldialdehyde (MDA) were detected, together with low vitamin E levels. After a fifteen-day-course of parenteral vitamin E supplementation, PBMC MDA reverted to normal values, while PBMC vitamin E levels remained lower than controls. In a parallel study an immunological monitoring was performed in the same patients before and after vitamin E supplementation. NK activity and PHA blastogenesis were not influenced by treatment, while a reduction of the number of OKT8+ lymphocytes were observed after vitamin E therapy. It is tempting to speculate that peroxidative damage of PBMC cell membranes in hemodialysis patients could, by impairing their functionality, influence immune responses and expression of functionally relevant membrane determinants.