Suppressor cells in stable dialysis and transplant patients

Assays for suppressor cells were used to investigate the immunological status of uraemic patients (39) and transplant patients (66), and results were compared with those for normal controls (52). The functional assays were depletion of suppressor activity by preincubation (suppressor index) and the concanavalin-A-inducible suppressor assay and, in the uraemic patients, T gamma, T mu, and T0 cells were enumerated. The results of these assays were discordant, supporting previous suggestions that they measure different suppressor cell populations. The level of concanavalin-A-inducible suppressor cell activity was significantly below normal in both uraemic and transplant patients. The number of T mu cells in uraemia was significantly reduced. The findings do not support the possibility that suppressor cells are involved in the immunodeficiency of uraemia or the maintenance of renal transplants. Moreover, it could be suggested that uraemic toxaemia depresses both helper and suppressor modalities with the net effect being a 'pan-deficiency' of immune function.