Abstract
BackgroundEnd stage renal disease (ESRD) is associated with defective T-cell mediated immunity. A diverse T-cell receptor (TCR) Vβ repertoire is central to effective T-cell mediated immune responses to foreign antigens. In this study, the effect of ESRD on TCR Vβ repertoire was assessed.ResultsA higher proportion of ESRD patients (68.9 %) had a skewed TCR Vβ repertoire compared to age and cytomegalovirus (CMV) – IgG serostatus matched healthy individuals (31.4 %, P < 0.001). Age, CMV serostatus and ESRD were independently associated with an increase in shifting of the TCR Vβ repertoire. More differentiated CD8+ T cells were observed in young ESRD patients with a shifted TCR Vβ repertoire. CD31-expressing naive T cells and relative telomere length of T cells were not significantly related to TCR Vβ skewing.ConclusionsESRD significantly skewed the TCR Vβ repertoire particularly in the elderly population, which may contribute to the uremia-associated defect in T-cell mediated immunity.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12979-015-0055-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
End stage renal disease (ESRD) is associated with defective T-cell mediated immunity
A skewed T-cell receptor (TCR) Vβ repertoire was present in a larger (P < 0.001) proportion (68.9 %) of the end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients compared to healthy individuals (HI) (31.4 %) (Fig. 1b)
Further dividing the results into single or multipleclonal peaks did not lead to significantly different percentages in skewed TCR Vβ repertoire between the ESRD patients and HI (Fig. 1c)
Summary
End stage renal disease (ESRD) is associated with defective T-cell mediated immunity. A diverse T-cell receptor (TCR) Vβ repertoire is central to effective T-cell mediated immune responses to foreign antigens. Patients suffering from end stage renal disease (ESRD) have an impaired T-cell mediated immune system, characterized by an increased susceptibility for infections [1], a decreased response to vaccination [2,3,4] and a heightened risk for virus-associated cancers [5]. An advanced decline in thymic output and attrition of telomeres was noted in both CD4+ as well as CD8+ T cells of ESRD patients [7, 8] These uremia-induced effects on T cells closely resemble premature T-cell aging and revealed a discrepancy of 15–20 years between the patient’s immunological age of their T cells and their chronological age [7]. A diverse (polyclonal) T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire capable of recognizing a broad range of foreign antigens is key to an effective T-cell-mediated immune. The TCR Vβ repertoire diversity might be affected by chronic antigenic
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