Noninvasive Prediction of Immune Rejection After Liver Transplantation with T cell immunoglobulin domain, and mucin domain-3

T cell immunoglobulin domain, and mucin domain-3 (Tim-3) is associated with immunosuppression, immune tolerance, and rejection after organ transplantation, but there are no reports of rejection after human liver transplantation. This study aimed to detect Tim-3 expression after liver transplantation to determine whether Tim-3 can be used as a noninvasive index to predict immune rejection.Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were performed on healthy people and patients with liver transplantation to detect Tim-3 and cytokines. Hepatic biochemical test was used to detect liver function. The study conforms to the provisions of the Declaration of Helsinki and Istanbul.The expression of Tim-3, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase increased first and then decreased, whereas the cytokines showed upward trend. There was no significant difference in the expression of Tim-3 between preoperative patients and normal people (P.05), whereas the expression of Tim-3 was significantly higher on the third day after operation than that before operation (P.05). The expression of Tim-3, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase peaked only once in most liver transplantation patients, but there were 3 patients that were exceptions.Tim-3 could be used as a potential biomarker to predict rejection after liver transplantation.