Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026
In Vitro and In Vivo Assessment of T, B and Myeloid Cells Suppressive Activity and Humoral Responses from Transplant Recipients
Published on: August 12, 2017
Contrasting CD25hiCD4+T cells/FOXP3 patterns in chronic rejection and operational drug-free tolerance
Stéphanie Louis1, Cécile Braudeau, Magali Giral
1Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Nantes University, Nantes, France.
Background:
Although immunosuppression withdrawal in kidney recipients usually leads to rejection, in some patients it does not, leading to a state of clinical operational tolerance.
Methods:
We compared these highly contrasted situations by analyzing blood cell phenotype and transcriptional patterns in drug-free spontaneously tolerant kidney recipients, recipients with chronic rejection, recipients with stable graft function under standard or minimal immunosuppression and healthy individuals
Results:
The blood cell phenotype of clinically tolerant patients did not differ from that of healthy individuals. In contrast, recipients with chronic rejection had significantly less CD25hiCD4+T cells and lower levels of FOXP3 transcripts compared with clinically tolerant recipients. Patients with chronic rejection also displayed CD25-CD4+T cells expressing NKG2D+CD94+ and CD57+CD27-CD28- cytotoxic-associated markers (P<0.05).
Conclusion:
These data show that whereas clinically tolerant recipients displayed normal levels of CD25hiCD4+T cells and FOXP3 transcripts, chronic rejection is associated with a decrease in CD25hiCD4+T cells and FOXP3 transcripts, suggesting that clinically "operational tolerance" may be due to a maintained phenomenon of natural tolerance that is lacking in patients with chronic rejection.
