Fig 1. Calcineurin inhibitors reduce the expression of CD24 and CD38 on CD19⁺ B lymphocytes.

The expression of CD24, CD38 and IL-10 after gating on CD19⁺ B-cells is shown in a representative healthy subject, indicating that only a minority of IL-10 producing B-cells highly express CD38 (A). The dot blots in B depict CD24^hiCD38^hi B-cells (red-framed boxes) in a representative healthy subject, a renal transplant recipient receiving a CsA or tacrolimus based immunosuppression. The respective isotype control staining is depicted in between. The scatter plot graphs in C and D summarize the results and show that treatment with tacrolimus (n = 35) or CsA (n = 11) not only reduce the percentage of peripherally circulating B-lymphocytes (C) but also affect the CD24^hiCD38^hi B-cell subset (D). In contrast to healthy subjects (n = 16), the CD24^hi38^hi expressing B-cell subset of renal transplant patients receiving a calcineurin inhibitor were significantly reduced or even blunted (B, D). No correlation was found between the amount of CD24^hiCD38^hi B-cells and time of sample assessment after transplantation (E, Spearman test, r = -0,01, p = 0,9450).