Allograft rejection-related gene expression in the endothelial cells of renal transplantation recipients after cytomegalovirus infection

Objective: To explore the effects of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection on rejection-related gene expression in the endothelial cells of renal transplantation recipients. Methods: Endothelial cells (ECs) were cultured and stimulated by a variety of factors: A,normal control group; B,inactivated human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection group; C,HCMV infection group; D,HCMV supernatant infection group; and E,ganciclovir HCMV group. Expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and major histocompability complex (MHC) class I and class II antigens was detected by flow cytometry (FCM) and immunohistochemistry. Results: We found characteristic CMV-infected ECs in this study. There were no significant differences among groups A,B and D (P>0.05). Although the expression levels of ICAM-1 were not significantly different between groups C and E (P>0.05),the ICAM-1 expression in these two groups was significantly higher than that in group A (P<0.05). ICAM-1 expression was detected in groups C and E,while there was no expression in groups A,B and D. Furthermore,there was no significant difference of ICAM-1 mRNA expression between groups C and E (P>0.05). Human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-ABC expression was detected in all the groups,while HLA-DR expression was only detected in groups C and E. There were no significant differences of HLA-ABC and HLA-DR expression among groups A,B and D (P>0.05). However,the HLA-ABC and HLA-DR expression levels in groups C and D were higher than those of the remaining groups previously reported (P<0.05). Meanwhile,the HLA-ABC and HLA-DR expression levels in group E were lower than those of group C (P<0.05). Conclusion: CMV could up-regulate the expression levels of ICAM-1 and MHC antigens,which was closely related to allograft rejection.