Immunosuppressive activity of serum taken from a liver transplant recipient after withdrawal of immunosuppressants

Li Wen Hsu, Shigeru Goto, Toshiaki Nakano, Chia Yun Lai, Yu Chun Lin, Ying Hsien Kao, Shu Hui Chen, Yu Fan Cheng, Bruno Jawan, King Wah Chiu, Chao Long Chen*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

In orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), tolerance is induced in a certain combination of donors and a recipient in rats and, in some clinical cases, rejection has not occurred in OLT patients after weaning off immunosuppression. However, this mechanism has not yet been elucidated. Among our cases of liver transplantation (LTx), one OLT patient (Patient A) has not required immunosuppressive drugs for the last 5 years, following post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD). This patient's serum interleukin-2 levels were undetectable following withdrawal of immunosuppressants. The same serum taken after discontinuing the immunosuppressants inhibited concanavalin A blast cultured cells and up-regulated the IL-4/IFN-γ gene expression ratio. These results suggested that other proteins were induced following withdrawal of immunosuppressants. Proteomic assay demonstrated 12 differentiated spots exclusive to this patient where immunosuppressants have been discontinued. Haptoglobin, found to have immunosuppressive activity in vitro, may play an important role in the maintenance of drug-free tolerance as a natural immunological suppressor after cessation of immunosuppression. Proteomic analysis will allow us to develop a novel weaning protocol for patients on long-term immunosuppression to avoid major immunosuppressant-related complications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)137-146
Number of pages10
JournalTransplant Immunology
Volume17
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 02 2007

Keywords

  • Drug-free tolerance
  • Liver transplantation
  • Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease
  • Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Immunosuppressive activity of serum taken from a liver transplant recipient after withdrawal of immunosuppressants'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this