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Updated: Jun 10, 2026
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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
Immune functional assay for immunosuppressive management in post-transplant malignancy
Tadahiro Uemura1, Thomas R Riley, Akhtar Khan
1Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, College of Medicine, Penn State University, Hershey, PA 17033, USA.
Clinical Transplantation
|July 20, 2010
Summary
The ImmuKnow assay offers objective immune status assessment in transplant patients with new cancers. Lower ImmuKnow levels predict poorer outcomes, aiding immunosuppression management post-treatment.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Transplant medicine
- Oncology
Background:
- Managing immunosuppression in post-transplant patients with de novo malignancy is difficult due to a lack of objective immunologic assessment tools.
- The ImmuKnow assay quantifies cell-mediated immunity by measuring ATP levels from CD4 T cells, offering insight into transplant recipient immune status.
Observation:
- The study evaluated the ImmuKnow assay's utility in 13 adult transplant patients diagnosed with de novo malignancy.
- Patients were categorized into survivors (n=9) and non-survivors (n=4) post-malignancy treatment.
- Tacrolimus and ImmuKnow levels were monitored throughout the treatment period.
Findings:
- Non-survivors exhibited significantly lower ImmuKnow levels before and after malignancy treatment compared to survivors (p=0.013 and p=0.0014).
- In survivors, ImmuKnow levels decreased during treatment but recovered post-treatment.
- Non-survivors showed persistent ImmuKnow suppression despite reduced immunosuppressive drug levels.
Implications:
- The ImmuKnow assay serves as an objective tool for assessing immune status in de novo malignancy patients.
- It can gauge immune suppression from chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
- This assay may optimize the timing for reintroducing immunosuppression after malignancy treatment.
