[Practical interest of a micromethod for neuraminidase treatment of lymphocytes in transplantation immunology (author's transl)].

Vibrio cholerae neuraminidase treatment increases the cell sensitivity to complement and antibodies cytotoxic action. This property can be applied to the microlymphocytotoxicity technic for antibodies study in dialysed and kidney transplanted patients and for pretransplantation cross-matches. The enzymatic treatment usually employed needs a great deal of lymphocytes submitted in a second step to antibodies cytotoxic action. But this method appeared difficult to be routinely applied. We developed a simpler method consisting in treating only the lymphocytes needed to perform the test, on the reaction plate itself. This method gives the same results as the classical enzymatic treatment: the intensity of the weakly positive reaction is strongly increased, after pretreatment of cells; in certain cases, it allows one to detect cytotoxic antibodies not revealed without neuraminidase. These antibodies can be related (or not) to HLA system but practically the more important fact is the ability of this method to reveal an eventual incompatibility.