Early immunologic status of patients following hand allotransplantation

Xiaofei ZHENG; Qingshui YIN; Wen WU; Yurong QIU; Guoxian PEI

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

There are a lot of immunologic studies about limb allotransplantation in animal experiment. But, it is only early investigation in clinic; its clinical immunologic study needs further accumulation.

OBJECTIVE:

To dynamically analyze the early immunologic state change in patients following hand allotransplantation.

DESIGN:

Controlled trial.

SETTING:

Department of Orthopaedics, Guangzhou General Hospital,Guangzhou Military Area Command of Chinese PLA; Department of Traumatic Orthopaedics and Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nanfang Hospital, First Military Medical University of Chinese PLA.

PARTICIPANTS:

Two patients who underwent unilateral hand allotransplantation in the Department of Orthopaedics, Guangzhou General Hospital,Guangzhou Military Area Command of Chinese PLA were enrolled, serving as experimental group. The observation was between September 1999 and March 2000. Twenty persons, including 12 male and 8 female, who homochronously received health examination, aged 20 to 45 years, were enrolled, serving as healthy control group. They all had no reactive immune and infectious diseases, and voluntarily participated in the trial.

METHODS:

Peripheral blood was collected from 2 patients who underwent hand allotransplantation once respectively at pre-operative 1 day and 3 days. Blood collecting was performed once per day at post-operative 1 week, three times per week at post-operative 2 to 4 weeks, twice per week at 5 to 8 weeks post-operation, once per week at 9 to 16 weeks post-operation, twice per month at 5 to 6 months post-operation. ① Peripheral blood T cell subgroups (CD3+,CD4+,CD8+T cells)were detected by flow cytometer,serum panel reactive antibody (PRA) by ELISA method, serum C-reactive protein by turbidimetric immanoassay (TIA), serum creatine kinase (CK) by enzyme dynamics method. ②Mixed lymphocyte reaction(MLR) mitomycin C-treated donor peripheral blood lymphocytes were used as stimulator, and proliferative reaction of peripheral blood lymphocyte of patients to donor transplanted antigen was detected with the incorporation of 3H-TDR method (Negative There was no significant difference between the mean value of stimulation index and 1, conversely positive). Autogenic peripheral blood lymphocytes treated with the same way replaced donor stimulator, serving as control. Stimulation index of each specimen was calculated (Stimulation index=Experiment cmp/controlcpm), serving as control index. Peripheral blood T-cell subgroups (CD3+,CD4+,CD8+T cell), serum PRA, C-reactive protein and CK were detected in 20 persons in healthy control group;Twenty persons were randomly divided into 10 groups. Two persons in each group were used as donor and recipient mutually and performed MLR.MAIN OUTCOME

MEASURES:

① Peripheral blood T cell subgrpups (CD3+,CD4+,CD8+T cell). ②PRA. ③ C-reactive protein. ④CK. ⑤MLR.

RESULTS:

①CD3+,CD4+,CD8+T cell levels were obviously decreased within one week after operation. CD3+ and CD4+T cell levels both recovered to be the pre-operative levels, but CD8+ level exceeded pre-operative level significantly [CD3+ (66.43±4.56); CD4+ (30.55±3.94); CD8 +(33.45 ±2.69)]. There was no significant difference between experiment group and control group. ②Serum PRA was 0 to 10%, there was no significant difference as compared with control group. ③ Serum C-reactive protein was 0 to 0.359 mg/L, there was no significant difference as compared with control group. ④ Serum CK was 25 to 170 mmol/L, and there was no significant difference as compared with control group. ⑤ MLR after transplantation was negative, and it turned into be positive 5 months later.They were all positive in control group.

CONCLUSION:

Short-term change and long-term redistribution of T cell subgroups are closely related to immunosuppressive agent, suggesting that immunosuppressive agent has obvious effect on T-cell subgroup following hand allotransplantation. Immuno-induction schedule make patients be in immune suppression state, which effectively avoid early rejection. But patients cannot bear specificity yet; they need the inhibition of immunosuppressive agents.