Allospecific CD154+ T-Cytotoxic Memory Cells Identify Recipients Experiencing Acute Cellular Rejection After Renal Transplantation

Background. The novel, recently described allo (antigen)-specific CD154+T cells were evaluated for their association with acute cellular rejection (ACR) in 43 adult renal transplant recipients receiving steroid-free tacrolimus after alemtuzumab induction. Methods. Single blood samples corresponding to “for cause” allograft biopsies were assayed for CD154+naive or memory T-helper or T-cytotoxic cells in 16-hr mixed leukocyte reaction. Results....