Equivalents of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio of circulating pool of stem and immature hematopoietic cells for assessing liver transplant status

Abstract

Objective : to study the applicability of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) for monitoring recipient status and for possible minimization of maintenance immunosuppression in the long-term period after liver transplantation (LT). Materials and methods . Blood samples of 19 recipients with satisfactory graft function were examined by flow cytofluorometry at various time periods after LT using hematopoietic stem cell markers CD133, their CD31 derivatives, and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), compared with the conventional NLR. Results . The use of NLR equivalents with CD133 and CD31 to assess liver transplant status is due to their high representation in liver tissue. Their values change in the long-term posttransplant period (from 1.5 to 6–7 years following LT) ≈20-fold and in different directions, but only when measuring their commissural to the liver cell fractions bearing the AFP marker. Conclusion . In contrast to the conventional NLR, maintenance of the lowest level of CD31 AFP, an NLR «equivalent», achieved at 1.5 years after LT, can be considered a criterion for the success of immunosuppressive therapy in the long-term post-LT period. The developed technique can be used to decide on whether to reduce or discontinue medication-assisted prophylaxis of graft rejection.