Host immune status in uraemia. I. Cell-mediated immune mechanisms.

An experimental model of stable uraemia has been used to determine the effect of uraemia on cell-mediated immune mechanisms in the rat. Controlled resection of renal tissue allowed the establishment of a 'moderate' (blood urea 100-200 mg/100 ml) and 'severe' grade of uraemia (BU > 200 mg/100 ml). The immune responsiveness of isolated lymphocyte suspensions from uraemic animals was similar to that of sham-operated animals but lymphocyte function in both groups was suppressed compared with control non-manipulated animals. This was particularly evident in the graft vs host reaction. The host vs graft which assumes the cell-mediated immune status in the live animals, was also depressed in the uraemic animals but in contrast to the previous results sham-operated animals exhibited normal responses. The results underscore the importance of surgically induced anergy as a factor complicating the assessment of immune function in uraemia and may explain some of the inconsistencies observed in the evaluation of cell-mediated immunity by in vitro analysis of lymphocyte suspensions and tests of immune function in the intact host.