Assessment of Interleukin 2 Cytokine Expression Levels After Renal Transplantation.

AIM: End-stage renal disease is a disease in which the kidney is not able to perform its functions. Kidney transplantation is the most effective treatment and cost-effective modality of renal replacement therapy for patients with end-stage renal disease. However, the most important problem in end-stage renal disease patients is the unpredictability of immunologic response after transplants. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the possible association between the interleukin 2 (IL-2) expression level and an organ rejection or rejection episode. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Lymphocytes were isolated from peripheral blood obtained from 21 end-stage renal disease-diagnosed patients prior to transplant and at the sixth month after transplant. CD4+ T cells were separated from lymphocytes by the magnetic cell-sorting method. The purity of these cells were controlled by a flow cytometer. After total RNA isolation from CD4+ T cells, IL-2 was examined by the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. RESULTS: Among nonrejection patients (n = 18), the IL-2 expression level decreased in 12 patients in post-transplant time, and 3 of these were statistically significant (P < .05). The level was the same in 1 of 18 patients; it increased in 5 patients, and 1 of them was significant (P < .05). The IL-2 expression level also increased in 3 patients who had a rejection episode, and the increase was statistically significant in 2 samples (P < .05). CONCLUSION: When the patients were evaluated individually, it was observed that there might be a relationship between IL-2 expression levels in CD4+ T cells and rejection episodes. The clinical data of the patients, the immunosuppressive therapies, and post-transplant evaluation of cytokines should be considered together.

Comparison of Anti-HLA Antibody Production According to Gestational Periods in Pregnant Women.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate paternal anti-HLA antibody profiles, sera samples were collected from pregnant women in different trimesters and the panel-reactive antibody (PRA) specificities were identified. METHODS: From 2013 to 2015, serum samples were obtained from 41 pregnant women who had registered at the Izmir Tepecik Education and Research Hospital Gynecology Clinic. Anti-HLA antibodies were screened by using the panel reactive antibody screening and identification tests. Sera samples were obtained at the first, second, and third trimesters. The primary outcome was to determine the anti-HLA antibody production term during pregnancy; the secondary outcome was identification of anti-HLA antibodies. RESULTS: None of the women had a sensitization history except during pregnancy. We observed that 54% of the women produced paternal antibodies, either class I or II. Class I PRA positivity of the women who had a first or second pregnancy was the same in all 3 trimesters, whereas class II positivity was increased in the third trimester. Class II and both class I and II positivity increased in the third trimester; class I positivity was decreased in the third trimester. PRA positivity could be affected by the history of pregnancy and could be raised, but no impact was observed from the history of abortion and miscarriage (odds ratios, 1.9, 0.4, and 0.5 [95% confidence intervals, 0.5-7.8, 0.1-2.0, and 0.3-0.7], respectively; P > .05). The most frequently detected antibodies were A2, B7, DR7, DR4, DR11, DR13, DQ2, and DQ8. CONCLUSIONS: Anti-HLA antibodies against paternal HLA antigens were detected more in multiparous women than in primiparous women. Anti-HLA antibody detection ratios did not change until the third trimester and were followed by a specific increase in class II anti-HLA antibody production.