CYTOKINES IN MIXED LYMPHOCYTE CULTURE AS PROSPECTIVE PARAMETERS FOR TRANSPLANTATION MEDICINE

Background: The human mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) is an important m odel for allogenic recognition established in the clinical routine of bone marrow transplantation (BMT). The measurement of proliferation in the MLC has no high predictive value either for the rejection nor for the graft-versus-host-disease and may not be used for the transplanta tion of cadaveric allografts because of its long duration. Method: Sin ce cytokines in the MLC represented more specific parameters, a two-wa y MLC measuring cytokine release on protein level was developed. In th is system, IFN-gamma played a key role inducing the cytotoxic reaction , the monocyte activation and the IL-2-induced cell proliferation. Res ult: Further, a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PC R) in the MLC was established that detects mRNA of a broad panel of cy tokines (IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-9, IL-10, TNF-alpha, TNF-beta , IFN-gamma, TGF-beta). Conclusion: The expression of mRNA allows to e valuate the cellular-mediated and the humoral-mediated immune response as well as the endogenous suppression between recipient and donor in a prospective manner. Since this method takes only several hours, it m ay be suitable not only for BMT but also for the transplantation of ca daveric allografts. In conclusion, cytokine-MLC by RT-PCR might be an important step for prospective testing of immunological compatibility in transplantation medicine.