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Lymphocyte subsets in hemodialysis patients treated with recombinant human erythropoietin
We investigated whether recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) therapy affected the lymphocyte subsets in patients on long-term maintenance hemodialysis (HD) with severe anemia. Before treatment, the numbers of peripheral blood lymphocyte, CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and CD20+ cells were decreased in HD patients compared to those in healthy subjects, while the number of CD3+HLA-DR+ cells was increased in HD patients compared to that in healthy subjects. Furthermore, the number of CD4+CD45RA+ (naive T) cells was markedly decreased in HD patients (112 +/- 77 vs 241 +/- 146/microliters; P < 0.01). The number of CD8+S6F1+ (cytotoxic T) cells in HD patients was also less than that in healthy subjects (247 +/- 104 vs 122 +/- 83/microliters; NS). During a 6-month period of rhEPO therapy, we found that the low level of CD4+CD45RA+ cells gradually increased (from 112 +/- 18 to 163 +/- 24/microliters; P < 0.01) with the elevation of hematocrit values (from 21.5 +/- 1.7 to 28.2 +/- 3.5%; P < 0.05). The number of CD3+HLA-DR+ cells decreased after 1 month of rhEPO therapy (from 93 +/- 14 to 46 +/- 13/microliters) and gradually declined throughout the 6-month study period. In our in vitro study, we demonstrated that no effects were observed on [3H]thymidine uptake in the T cell subsets at various concentrations of rhEPO. These results suggest that rhEPO-induced immunoregulation is mediated by an indirect stimulatory effect on the immune system, this stimulation being accompanied by an improvement in physical condition.
We investigated whether recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) therapy affected the lymphocyte subsets in patients on long-term maintenance hemodialysis (HD) with severe anemia. Before treatment, the numbers of peripheral blood lymphocyte, CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and CD20+ cells were decreased in HD patients compared to those in healthy subjects, while the number of CD3+HLA-DR+ cells was increased in HD patients compared to that in healthy subjects. Furthermore, the number of CD4+CD45RA+ (naive T) cells was markedly decreased in HD patients (112 +/- 77 vs 241 +/- 146/microliters; P < 0.01). The number of CD8+S6F1+ (cytotoxic T) cells in HD patients was also less than that in healthy subjects (247 +/- 104 vs 122 +/- 83/microliters; NS). During a 6-month period of rhEPO therapy, we found that the low level of CD4+CD45RA+ cells gradually increased (from 112 +/- 18 to 163 +/- 24/microliters; P < 0.01) with the elevation of hematocrit values (from 21.5 +/- 1.7 to 28.2 +/- 3.5%; P < 0.05). The number of CD3+HLA-DR+ cells decreased after 1 month of rhEPO therapy (from 93 +/- 14 to 46 +/- 13/microliters) and gradually declined throughout the 6-month study period. In our in vitro study, we demonstrated that no effects were observed on [3H]thymidine uptake in the T cell subsets at various concentrations of rhEPO. These results suggest that rhEPO-induced immunoregulation is mediated by an indirect stimulatory effect on the immune system, this stimulation being accompanied by an improvement in physical condition.