Diagnostic evaluation of the in situ inflammatory response of renal allograft rejection.

Transplant aspiration cytology (TAC) may be performed daily from human renal allografts without risk to the graft or to the graft recipient. With TAC it is possible to accurately quantitate the onset, type, degree and duration of the inflammatory response of rejection, predict the course of rejection, and on certain occasions also visualise the rejection prior to the appearance of clinical signs. The method also provides a quantitative tool for the assessment of the effects of immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory drugs on the composition of the in situ inflammatory infiltrate.