Markers for pancreas-graft rejection in humans

Rejection episodes were studied in 15 patients, in whom no kidney graft could serve as a marker for rejection, subjected to pancreas transplantation with pancreatoenterostomy and temporary exteriorization of the pancreatic juice (10 pancreas alone, 3 pancreas after kidney, and 2 combined pancreas and kidney in which the kidney was not functioning.) Twelve patients (80%) had a total of 18 rejection episodes. In the first 11 patients, 13 rejection episodes were diagnosed by a decline in amylase activity in the pancreatic juice, whereas in the next 4 patients, 5 rejection episodes were diagnosed by positive cytology in the pancreatic juice. Neopterin in pancreatic juice and immunoreactive anionic trypsin in serum showed promise as rejection markers, whereas serum neopterin, serum amylase, and serum immunoreactive cationic trypsin did not. Unspecific signs of rejections were an increase in white blood cell count, clinical symptoms such as fever, abdominal pain, and arthralgia. All acute rejection episodes were successfully reversed by antirejection treatment. However, late rejections diagnosed by impaired endocrine function were seen in 6 of the 15 (40%) patients, and the prognoses for these rejections were worse: 4 patients (27%) lost their grafts because of chronic rejections, and 2 patients still had impaired endocrine function.