Pre-transplant Th1 and post-transplant Th2 cytokine patterns are associated with early acute rejection in renal transplant recipients

In this retrospective study, we tried to define pre- and post-transplant immunological parameters that identify patients at risk for early acute rejection. Lymphocyte subpopulations and plasma levels of cytokines and neopterin were determined pre- and post-transplant in 32 renal transplant recipients with biopsy-proven early acute graft rejection. Recipients without early acute rejection served as controls. High pre-transplant interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) plasma levels (p = 0.006), consistently high levels of neopterin early post-transplant (p = 0.008), a post-transplant switch from a Th1 to a Th2 cytokine pattern with decreasing IFN-gamma (p = 0.02), low CD8+ lymphocyte counts (p = 0.006) and consistently high CD19+ B lymphocyte counts were associated with acute rejection. Our data suggest that patients with a pre-transplant Th1 and an early post-transplant Th2 cytokine pattern are pre-disposed for early acute rejection.