Organ Transplantation Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Organ Transplantation, including details on risks, prognosis, procedure, surgery.

The value of serum neopterin, interferon-gamma levels and interleukin-12B polymorphisms in predicting acute renal allograft rejection.

Chin GK, Adams CL, Carey BS, Shaw S, Tse WY, Kaminski ER

South-west Transplant Centre, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK.

Acute rejection remains a poor predictor of graft outcome. In this study, we measured serum levels of interferon (IFN)-gamma and neopterin by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within the 3' untranslated region of the interleukin (IL)-12 B gene (1188 A/C) to determine whether either of these factors could predict acute rejection in renal transplantation. Significantly higher early post-transplant neopterin levels (days 5-7; 35.7 versus 19.9 nmol/l) were observed in recipients who subsequently rejected their grafts. Post-transplant neopterin levels showed a strong positive correlation with 1-month creatinine levels (Spearman's correlation 0.62, P < 0.001), suggesting macrophage activation early after transplantation. Pretransplant neopterin and IFN-gamma levels and the IL-12B gene SNP did not predict acute rejection in this small retrospective study. The ability to predict acute rejection non-invasively early after transplantation could lead to individual tailoring of immunosuppressive regimens and perhaps lead eventually to longer graft survival.

Published 15 April 2008 in Clin Exp Immunol, 152(2): 239-44.
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