Patent ID: 6150121
Filing Date: 2000-11-21
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
A method for monitoring the immunological status of a human transplant recipient who has received a transplanted organ, comprising the steps of:as step X, in the presence of a first concentration of an externally supplied quantity of a specified cytokine growth factor, exposing fibroblast cells derived from the organ to post-transplant lymphocytes from the recipient (other than lymphocytes from said organ);determining the extent to which the step X lymphocytes are immunologically activated by exposure to the step X cells;as step XX, in the absence of an externally supplied quantity of said specified cytokine growth factor, or in the presence of a concentration thereof which is less than that used in step X, exposing fibroblast cells derived from the transplanted organ to post-transplant lymphocytes from the recipient (other than lymphocytes from said organ);determining the extent to which the step XX lymphocytes are immunologically activated by exposure to the step XX cells; anddetermining from the extent to which the immunological activation is greater in step X than in step XX the extent to which the transplanted organ is being rejected by the recipient.