Single-Cell Profiling of Kidney Transplant Recipients With Immunosuppressive Treatment Reveals the Dynamic Immune Characteristics

Frontiers in Immunology

Xiaoyou Liu¹  Jianmin Hu²  Guorong Liao²  Siqiang Yang²  Ming Zhao²  Jun Liao²  Zefeng Guo²  Song Zhou²  Ying Guo²  Hua Chen²  Yongguang Liu²  Yuzhu Li²  Min Li²  Shichao Li²  Ding Liu²  Liuyang Li²  Lipei Fan²  Ruiquan Xu³ 

[1] Department of Organ Transplantation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China;Department of Organ Transplantation, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China;Department of Urology, First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China;

关键词: kidney transplant recipients;    CyTOF;    single-cell profiling;    immune characteristics;    immunosuppressive treatment;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fimmu.2021.639942

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Kidney transplantation is currently the first choice of treatment for various types of end-stage renal failure, but there are major limitations in the application of immunosuppressive protocols after kidney transplantation. When the dose of immunosuppressant is too low, graft rejection occurs easily, while a dose that is too high can lead to graft loss. Therefore, it is very important to explore the immune status of patients receiving immunosuppressive agents after kidney transplantation. To compare the immune status of the recipient’s whole peripheral blood before and after receipt of immunosuppressive agents, we used single-cell cytometry by time-of-flight (CyTOF) to detect the peripheral blood immune cells in five kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) from the Department of Organ Transplantation of Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University before and after receiving immunosuppressive agents. Based on CyTOF analysis, we detected 363,342 live single immune cells. We found that the immune cell types of the KTRs before and after receipt of immunosuppressive agents were mainly divided into CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, B cells, NK cells/γδ T cells, monocytes/macrophages, granulocytes, and dendritic cells (DCs). After further reclustering of the above cell types, it was found that the immune cell subclusters in the peripheral blood of patients underwent major changes after receipt of immunosuppressants. After receiving immunosuppressive therapy, the peripheral blood of KTRs had significantly increased levels of CD57+NK cells and significantly decreased levels of central memory CD4+ T cells, follicular helper CD4+ T cells, effector CD8+ T cells, effector memory CD8+ T cells and naive CD8+ T cells. This study used CyTOF to classify immune cells in the peripheral blood of KTRs before and after immunosuppressive treatment, further compared differences in the proportions of the main immune cell types and immune cell subgroups before and after receipt of immunosuppressants, and provided relatively accurate information for assessment and treatment strategies for KTRs.

【 授权许可】

Unknown