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Increase of peripheral natural killer T cells in hemodialysis patients
1Department of Internal Medicine, Nagoya University Daiko Medical Center, Japan. akeyo-n@kb3.so-net.ne.jp
Aims:
Patients with end-stage renal disease often present a state of immunodeficiency. To elucidate the involvement of natural killer T (NKT) cells in the development of pathologies associated with uremia, we examined the percentages and characteristics of NKT cells (CD56+ T cells and CD57+ T cells) in peripheral lymphocites from hemodialysis (HD) patients.
Materials And Methods:
Thirty-three patients who had undergone HD therapy for 2 to 5 years (group A, n = 15) or for more than 10 years (group B, n = 18) and 17 normal controls participated in this study. Cell surface antigens of lymphocytes were analyzed using immunofluorescent flow cytometry.
Results:
The percentage of peripheral CD56+ T cells was increased in group A and B compared with controls, and that of CD57+ T cells was increased in group B compared with controls and group A. The most abundant population in CD56+ T cells was DN T cells, and that in CD57+ T cells was CD8+ T cells. In CD57+ T cells, a higher proportion of CD8+ T cells and a lower proportion of DN T cells were found in group B compared with controls.
Conclusions:
We detected increases of CD56+ T cells and CD57+ T cells in HD patients. The elevation of NKT cells might affect some complications associated with HD.