Immunosuppressive agents and cytomegalovirus infection

• Authors: K. Tanaka
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the major infectious complication observed after organ transplantation. As rejection episodes always occur in allograft-transplanted recipients, various kinds of immunosuppressive agnets are used to control such rejection episodes. Among the commonly used immunosuppressive agents, anti-pan T cell monoclonal antibody (OKT3) is known to increase the risk of viral infections. A new immunological techniques have recently been developed to measure CMV-specific CD4 and CD8 cells by flowcytometry. Using the techniques, the high frequencies of specific CD4 and CD8 T cells have been shown to be required to survey the CMV (re)activation in the persistent/latent phase of CMV infection. An excessive T cell depletion by OKT would deplete such surveying T cells, thus resulting in the occurrence of CMV-associated diseases.

Keywords

EN

CYTOMEGALOVIRUS; IMMUNOSUPPRESSION; T CELL; TRANSPLANTATION

Discipline

• IMMUNOLOGY: IMMUNOLOGY

• Publisher: Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis
• Year: 2003
• Volume: 51
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 179-184

Contributors

author

K. Tanaka

• Document Type: REVIEW
• Publication order reference: K.Tanaka, Department of Infectious Diseases, Tokai University School of Medicine, Bohseidai, Isehara, Kanagawa 259-1193, Japan