Assessment of Interleukin 2 Cytokine Expression Levels After Renal Transplantation

End-stage renal disease is a disease in which the kidney is not able to perform its functions. Kidney transplantation is the most effective treatment and cost-effective modality of renal replacement therapy for patients with end-stage renal disease. However, the most important problem in end-stage renal disease patients is the unpredictability of immunologic response after transplants. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the possible association between the interleukin 2 (IL-2) expression level and an organ rejection or rejection episode.

Lymphocytes were isolated from peripheral blood obtained from 21 end-stage renal disease-diagnosed patients prior to transplant and at the sixth month after transplant. CD4+ T cells were separated from lymphocytes by the magnetic cell-sorting method. The purity of these cells were controlled by a flow cytometer. After total RNA isolation from CD4+ T cells, IL-2 was examined by the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method.

Among nonrejection patients (n = 18), the IL-2 expression level decreased in 12 patients in post-transplant time, and 3 of these were statistically significant (P < .05). The level was the same in 1 of 18 patients; it increased in 5 patients, and 1 of them was significant (P < .05). The IL-2 expression level also increased in 3 patients who had a rejection episode, and the increase was statistically significant in 2 samples (P < .05).

When the patients were evaluated individually, it was observed that there might be a relationship between IL-2 expression levels in CD4+ T cells and rejection episodes. The clinical data of the patients, the immunosuppressive therapies, and post-transplant evaluation of cytokines should be considered together.