New Data Support Role for Monitoring of Cell-Mediated Immunity in Adult Patients Following Renal Trans...( Cylex's ImmuKnow(R) assay shows clin...),Health

Cylex's ImmuKnow(R) assay shows clinical potential in independent study of

adult kidney transplant patients

COLUMBIA, Md., Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- A recently published article by Sanchez-Velasco et al.* in Clinical Transplantation has expanded our understanding of the clinical potential of monitoring cell-mediated immunity in adult patients at risk for organ rejection or infection subsequent to kidney transplantation.

Pablo Sanchez-Velasco and his colleagues in the Cantabria Health System and at the University of Cantabria, in Santander, Spain, used the Cylex ImmuKnow assay to prospectively monitor intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentrations following CD4 cell activation as a measure of cell- mediated immune function in 81 immunosuppressed adults who underwent kidney transplantation. The objective of their study was to examine the association between cell-mediated immunity and risk for organ rejection (in under- immunosuppressed patients) or systemic infection (in over-immunosuppressed patients). Their data were also compared to intracellular ATP levels in 52 (non-transplanted) healthy controls.

Their results demonstrated a clear correlation between intracellular ATP levels for the healthy control group, a group of stable transplant patients, and infected transplant patients, with a statistically significant difference between the median ATP levels for these three groups:

-- Infected transplant group (n = 24): mean ATP level = 197 +/- 114 ng/mL

-- Stable transplant group (n = 54): mean ATP level = 313 +/- 193 ng/mL

-- Healthy control group (n = 52): mean ATP level = 409 +/- 177 ng/mL

These ATP levels correlate relatively closely to the three categories of cell-mediated immunity defined for adult transplant patients in the product's package insert.

Only three patients in this trial underwent an acute rejection episode during the course of this study. The autho
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