Effects of Sevoflurane and Desflurane Anesthesia on Regulatory T Cells in Patients Undergoing Living Donor Kidney Transplantation

All patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) need renal replacement therapy, either dialysis or kidney transplantation. Dialysis, despite its effectiveness in prolonging ESRD patients' lives, is a burden. Successfulness in kidney transplantation will restore good quality of life in ESRD patients. However, one of the most important complications that lead to transplant failure is graft rejection. It is already known that the pathophysiology of the rejection is immune response. Recent evidence showed that regulatory T cell (Treg) plays a central role in preventing graft rejection by inhibiting recipient alloimmune response (1-3). Characterization of Treg numbers and/or functional changes under various conditions may lead to a new preventive measure and/or a novel therapeutic strategy for graft rejection.

Kidney transplantation is conducted under general anesthesia. Interestingly, several agents used in general anesthesia have also modulated immune functions (4-12). Although the effect of inhalation anesthetic agents on leukocyte count has been shown, the effect on Treg function has totally been unknown. Knowing the effects of inhalation agents on Treg numbers and functions will be beneficial to intraoperative management during transplant surgery, aiming toward reducing the risk of graft rejection in the future.