Peripheral Blood Regulatory T Cells Are Diminished in Kidney Transplant Patients With Chronic Allograft Nephropathy

Abstract

BackgroundOur aim in this study was to assess peripheral blood CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ regulatory T cell (Treg) levels in patients with chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) 1 year after kidney transplantation. MethodsTwelve renal transplant patients with an initial onset of CAN, 12 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage G5 on dialysis, and 13 healthy control individuals were evaluated regarding the proportion of Tregs in their peripheral blood via flow cytometry. ResultsThe renal transplant patients with CAN had a significantly lower proportion of Tregs than the hemodialysis CKD patients and healthy controls (P < .0001). In contrast, the hemodialysis CKD patients showed higher levels of Tregs than the renal transplant patients with CAN and the healthy controls (P < .0001). ConclusionThe high level of peripheral blood Tregs in the hemodialysis CKD patients suggests a chronic inflammatory state. However, the low frequency of Tregs in the peripheral blood from the renal transplant patients with CAN suggests an unfavorable prognosis for allograft immune tolerance.