Serum interleukin-2 and soluble interleukin-2 receptor in renal transplant recipients.

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) and soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), released during T-lymphocyte activation, were measured in serial samples of serum from 32 patients with renal allografts and other uremic patients. Patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis had elevated sIL-2R levels (1,801.93 +/- 753.23 U/mL) which dropped after stable renal transplantation (822 +/- 438 u/mL). However, these values were higher than those of a normal control group (397.3 +/- 84.5 u/mL, p < 0.01). Marked elevation of sIL-2R (1,503.78 +/- 640 u/mL) was noted in patients with acute rejection episodes compared to those in a stable allograft condition (p < 0.02) and those with cyclosporine nephrotoxicity (793.2 +/- 245.2 u/mL, p < 0.01), but returned to a stable level after successful anti-rejection treatment (745.91 +/- 345.8 u/mL, p < 0.01). Acute tubular necrosis and infection also showed a comparable rise in the sIL-2R level. The increase in sIL-2R with rejection was found one to four days earlier than the clinical diagnosis of acute rejection. There was a marked rise in the serum IL-2 level of uremic and post-transplant patients when compared to normal subjects (34.76 +/- 32.16 u/mL and 9.3 +/- 12.7 u/mL vs 4.38 +/- 3.38 u/mL, p < 0.001), but no significant differences were found between the IL-2 level of patients with acute rejection and cyclosporine nephrotoxicity or acute tubular necrosis (3.74 +/- 4.51 u/mL, 1.57 +/- 1.25 u/mL and 6.73 +/- 6.3 u/mL, p > 0.05). The diagnostic value of sIL-2R assay was more meaningful than that of IL-2.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)