Comparative Peripheral Blood T Cells Analysis Between Adult Deceased Donor Liver Transplantation (DDLT) and Living Donor Liver Transplantation (LDLT).

Abstract

BackgroundT lymphocytes are an essential component of allograft rejection and tolerance. The aim of the present study was to analyze and compare the characteristics of T cell subsets in patients who underwent deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) versus living donor liver transplantation (LDLT).Material/MethodsBetween April 2013 and June 2014, 64 patients underwent adult liver transplantation. The distribution of peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets before transplantation and at 4, 8, 12, and 24 weeks post-transplantation were monitored serially.ResultsIn the serial peripheral blood samples, the absolute CD3+ T cell counts in the LDLT group were higher than those in the DDLT group (p=0.037). The CD4+, CD8+, CD4/CD8, Vδ1, Vδ2, and γδ T cell counts did not change significantly over time in either group. The Vδ1/Vδ2 ratio was higher in patients with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection than in patients without CMV infection (0.12 versus 0.26; p=0.033). The median absolute CD3+ and CD8+ T cell counts in patients with biopsy-proven acute rejection (BPAR) were 884 (range, 305–1,320) and 316 (range, 271–1,077), respectively, whereas they were 320 (range, 8–1,167) and 257 (range, 58–1,472) in patients without BPAR. The absolute CD3+ and CD8 T cell counts were higher in patients with BPAR than in patients without BPAR (p=0.007 and p=0.039, respectively).ConclusionsWith the exception of CD3+ T cells, T cell populations did not differ significantly between patients who received DDLT versus LDLT. In liver transplantation patients, CMV infection and BPAR were closely associated with T cell population changes.