Does low-dose immunosuppression reduce the incidence of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease in pediatric liver graft recipients?
The authors conclude that low-dose immunosuppressive protocols significantly reduce the incidence of PTLD. In patients treated with that regimen, the monitoring of EBV viral load seems not to be helpful. It can be assumed that low-dose immunosuppression does not suppress EBV-specific cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, thus allowing the host to control EBV infection without the risk of PTLD. Our low-dose immunosuppression protocol did not increase the risk of chronic rejection.
We determined that apoptosis, leading to further cell death, is activated in the majority of cells in the transition zone, thus supporting the hypothesis that the "safety margin" of 10 mm is encompassed by the indirect thermal effect.