Monocyte-secreted inflammatory cytokines are associated with transplant glomerulopathy in renal allograft recipients

Background. Although there is ample evidence about the role of adaptive immunity in the development of chroni allograft dysfunction, little is known about the contribution of innate immunity to this process. Herein, we studied th relationship between inflammation, chronic biopsy scores, and anti-human leukocyte antigen (HLA) circulating a] loantibodies in a cohort of 57 patients recruited at our center. Methods. Available biopsies (n=27) were graded for chronic lesion scores according to Banff criteria. The production on cytokines by peripheral blood mononuclear cells after 48 hr of culture under resting conditions was quantified by Lumineux Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α secretion assay and depletion studies were used to identify the source of these cytokines. Results. There was a high correlation between the levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α (r>0.8, P