Abstract
Ten patients (7 males and 3 females) undergoing dialysis for polycystic kidney (PCK), in which it is considered almost impossible for immunity to participate as a background factor in the onset of chronic renal insufficiency, and 42 dialysis patients (31 males and 11 females) whose underlying disease was chronic glomerular nephritis, were divided into a short-term dialysis group (less than 2 years; 24 patients) and a long-term dialysis group (9 years or more; 18 patients). T lymphocyte subpopulations, lymphocyte transformation response (PHA, Con A, PWM reaction), NK activity and IL-2 productivity were investigated in these groups.
1) With regard to the T lymphocyte subpopulations, the rates of OKT3- and OKT4-positive cells were significantly (p<0.05) higher in the group undergoing dialysis for PCK (HDP) than in healthy subjects. 2) All groups showed favorable lymphocyte transformation. 3) NK activity was significantly (p<0.01) lower in the short- and long-term chronic nephritis dialysis groups (HDS, HDL) than in healthy subjects. On the other hand, NK activity was within normal range in the HDP group. IL-2 productivity was normal in all groups.
The above results suggest that immunological competence in HDP is different from that in dialysis patients with other underlying diseases. It appears to be important to investigate the condition of immunological competence early in dialysis (0-2 years after onset) and to examine annual changes in immunological competence in individual patients with HDP.
