Intragraft Cytokine mRNA Expression After Clinical Organ Transplantation

As the knowledge of the cytokine network in experimental transplant models grows, we need to understand how and to what extent cytokines mediate the various donordirected immune events in clinical situations. This overview on clinical cytokine measurements shows that specific intragraft cytokine messengerRNA (mRNA) expression profiles can be associated with acute rejection, may reflect the efficacy of immunosuppression, and can trace patients at risk for the development of early chronic rejection. Moreover, the literature also showed that acute rejection and immunological quiescence in man are not restricted to the cytokine patterns according to the type 1/type 2 paradigm. This apparent lack of association may be caused by the immunosuppression used in the clinic but may also be the result of the infinite diversity of donor and recipient factors of which polymorphisms in cytokines and cytokine receptor genes may playa central role.

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