Cellular immunology in regular dialysis: a biological model for biocompatibility evaluation

Cellular immunity represents an interesting biological model for biocompatibility evaluation of artificial materials owing to its sensitivity to contact with the external environment and its capability of modulating response reactions to foreign agents. Advanced methodologies such as flow cytometry and the immunoenzyme techniques in particular have given new insights into lymphocyte structure and functions, enabling analysis of the in vivo modification of these cells. By means of these sophisticated techniques we investigated lymphocyte activation and proliferation during one single haemodialysis session. Findings clearly show that increases in HLA antigen density (class I and II), DNA synthesis, and interleukin-2 receptor serum concentration (Il-2R) take place during the dialysis procedure, and reach their maximum during the first hour of extracorporeal circulation. The relationship between dialysis procedure and cellular immunity appears noticeable and is of potential value in the evaluation and quantification of the biocompatibility of different dialysis membranes.