The changes of rosette forming cell of peripheral blood lymphocyte during hemodialysis

Abstract

The effect of hemodialysis on the immune response, mainly on the peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulation, was studied. Ten (10) patients on maintenance hemodialysis using cuprophan membrane and 2 patients using polycarbonate membrane had been subjected to our study and lymphocyte subpopulations had been made according to Yata's mixed rosette method. The blood was withdrawn from the patients at intervals of 15, 60 and 120 minutes in addition to predialysis. Results are as follows: 1) Percentages of subsets of double-RFC (Tγ cells: suppressor T cells and a part of killer cells) and EA-RFC (B cells and K cells) decreased markedly in the peripheral blood within 15 minutes after starting of hemodialysis and thereafter returned to former figures after 60 minutes (P<0.001). 2) There was no significant alteration of T cell count percentage in the periferal blood. 3) There was about 20% decrease of lymphocytes in number during dialysis, which was considered to be attributed mainly to decreased numbers of double-RFC and EA-RFC. 4) A mechanism which might have affected those subsets through Fc receptors of IgG was appeared to be one of possible causes of the subsets decrease. 5) Decrease of the neutrophils was not solely attributed to complement activation mechanism. The other mechanism was suggested to be responsible for the phenomenon.