Acute lung transplant rejection is associated with localized increase in T-cell IFN gamma and TNF alpha proinflammatory cytokines in the airways

Background. Allograft rejection remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality after lung transplantation and is associated with increased gene expression for proinflammatory cytokines. T cells are a major cell type involved in graft rejection. There have been no previous studies of cytokine production by T cells from blood, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and intraepithelial T cells from bronchial brushings (BB) during rejection episodes; we hypothesized that T-cell proinflammatory cytokines would be increased in the airways during rejection episodes despite standard immunosuppression regimens