ABSTRACT
Transplantation of foreign tissue initiates complex inflammatory responses that are
mediated by cytokines and that, in the absence of immunosuppression, usually result
in acute graft rejection and graft destruction. Thus, the study of cytokines in transplantation
research has been pursued with great interest. Cytokine biology has evolved from an
era that focused on the identification and cataloguing of newly discovered cytokines
to one that addresses (1) the complexity of cytokine interactions with other cytokines,
with other biologic mediators, and with the extracellular matrix; and (2) the diversity
of cytokine effects upon both lymphoid and nonlymphoid cell types. This article reviews
the basic principles of transplant immunology and discusses experimental data regarding
the role of prototypic cytokines in allograft rejection, in general, and liver allograft
rejection, in particular.
KEY WORDS
cytokines - liver - transplantation
