Hemodialysis with cuprophane membrane modulates interleukin-2 receptor expression.

Chronic dialysis patients have several indices of immune deficiency. We examined the hypothesis that the biocompatibility of dialysis membranes may influence the ability of lymphocytes to express interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptors on their surface, a key event in cellular immune response. We investigated the potential role of the dialysis membrane in eight chronic hemodialysis patients. The study design was a cross-over study using cuprophane and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) membranes. Chronic dialysis with new cuprophane membrane leads to an increase in baseline expression of the two subunits of IL-2 receptors. IL2R alpha (p55, CD25) and IL-2R beta (p70), in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC). However, Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) stimulation of PBMC harvested after two weeks of dialysis with cuprophane membrane showed a markedly decreased expression of high affinity IL-2 receptors. These findings are reversed when patients were dialyzed with a PMMA membrane which is also associated with minimal complement activation. The increased expression of IL-2 receptor subunits are reproduced in vitro by direct contact of PBMC with cuprophane membrane and by the addition of the anaphylatoxin C5a. This study confirms the participation of lymphocytes in the complex blood-membrane interactions that occurs during dialysis; the results may be relevant to observations of immune deficiency in dialysis patients.