Clinical relevance of a CD4+ T cell immune function assay in the diagnosis of infection in pediatric living‑donor liver transplantation

Liu,Wei; Wang,Kai; Zhao,Yi‑He; Song,Guang‑Ping; Gao,Wei; Li,Dai‑Hong

doi:10.3892/etm.2019.8003

Clinical relevance of a CD4+ T cell immune function assay in the diagnosis of infection in pediatric living‑donor liver transplantation

Authors:
- Wei Liu
- Kai Wang
- Yi‑He Zhao
- Guang‑Ping Song
- Wei Gao
- Dai‑Hong Li
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Affiliations: Department of Blood Transfusion, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, P.R. China, Department of Transplantation Surgery, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, P.R. China
Published online on: September 13, 2019 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2019.8003
Pages: 3823-3828
Copyright: © Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential of the Immuknow immune cell function assay for the diagnosis of infection after pediatric living‑donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Based on clinical data obtained following liver transplantation, 66 patients were divided into infection (n=28) and non‑infection (n=38) groups. The following factors were considered in the present analysis: Primary disease, lymphocyte count, tacrolimus plasma concentration/dose (C0/D) ratio, CD4+ T lymphocyte ATP levels, at pre‑transplant stage and at weeks 1‑4, and 2 and 3 months post‑transplant. The CD4+ T lymphocyte ATP values were plotted in a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The CD4+ T lymphocyte ATP value of the infection group was significantly lower compared with that of the non‑infection group (188.6±93.5 vs. 424.4±198.1 ng/ml, respectively; P<0.05). No correlation was observed between the ATP value and tacrolimus plasma C0/D ratio (R2=0.0001484); however, a correlation was reported between the ATP value and lymphocyte count (R2=0.2149). Analysis of the ROC curve indicated that the ATP levels of CD4+ T cells were significantly associated with the diagnostic value of infection (area under the curve=0.866). These findings suggest that low CD4+ T lymphocyte ATP levels may be an independent risk factor for infection following pediatric LDLT, and that the Immuknow assay may be used as a tool to evaluate T lymphocyte function in such patients to predict the risk of infection.

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