Table 1.
Demographic and baseline characteristics of 139 study patients according to vitamin D- supplementation status and form (Non-vitamin D, calcitriol, or cholecalciferol)
| Controls | Non-vitamin D | Calcitriol | Cholecalciferol | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of subjects | 16 | 69 | 38 | 16 | |
| Gender (% female) | 81 | 35 | 29 | 43 | 0.003 |
| Age (years) | 42 (25.5–53.5) | 53 (41.2–62.7) | 57 (49–71) | 55 (45.5–64) | 0.004 |
| Years post transplantation | 2.1 (1.3–5.6) | 3 (1.7–6.2) | 1.5 (1.1–2.4) | 0.117 | |
| Vitamin D weekly dose | |||||
| Calcitriol (μg) | 1.75 (1.75–3.5) | ||||
| Cholecalciferol (IU) | 7000 (5950–10,000) | ||||
| No. of rejections | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0.275 | |
| CMV IgG positive recipients % | 52.5 | 58.1 | 56.3 | 0.894 | |
| ATG induction (% of patients) | 13 | 17 | 23 | 0.568 | |
| Serum Creatinine mg/dl | 1.5 (1.2–1.9) | 1.6 (1.3–2.2) | 1.2 (1.1–1.7) | 0.155 | |
| Maintenance immunosuppresion (% of patients) | |||||
| Tac/CsA+ MPA/MMF + Steroids | 84 | 72 | 76 | 0.272 | |
| Tac/CsA+ AZA + Steroids | 13 | 9 | 12 | ||
| Tac/CsA+ everolimus/sirolimus + Steroids | 3 | 19 | 12 | ||
| C0 MPA (mg/l) | 1.9 (1.2–4) | 2.6 (1.7–4) | 2.5 (1.7–5.2) | 0.293 | |
| C0 Tac (ng/ml) | 6 (5.2–7.8) | 6.6 (5.7–7.3) | 6.3 (4.8–7.3) | 0.839 | |
| C0 CycA (ng/ml) | 116 (93–128) | 140 (117–169) | 63a | ||
| Time of blood sampling (% of patients) | |||||
| Summer | 25 | 45 | 52.6 | 31.25 | |
| Autumn | 25 | 29 | 21.1 | 56.25 | 0.252 |
| Winter | 25 | 13 | 15.8 | 6.25 | |
| Spring | 25 | 13 | 10.5 | 6.25 | |
| NK cells/μl | 176 (149–239) | 141 (75–191) | 106 (43–230) | 178 (90–296) | 0.084 |
| CD8+ T cells/μl | 377 (291–556) | 310 (200–544) | 417 (282–568) | 531 (237–568) | 0.439 |
| CD4+ T cells/μl | 762 (590–990) | 677 (373–1043) | 524 (357–877) | 595 (352–1070) | 0.144 |
| Tregs/μl* | 5.5 (4.7–8.4) | 3.1 (1.6–5.3) | 2.2 (1.3–4.3) | 4.7 (3–8.5) | <0.001 |
| Helios+ Tregs/μl* | 2.5 (1.3–4) | 0.7 (0.3–1.4) | 0.6 (0.3–1.1) | 2.2 (1.1–3.8) | < 0.001 |
| Helios− Tregs/μl* | 3.3 (2.5–4.2) | 2.2 (0.9–3.9) | 1.4 (0.9–3.1) | 2.7 (1.1–4.6) | 0.008 |
| IFNg+ Tregs/μl* | 0.3 (0.1–0.7) | 0.3 (.04–0.3) | 0.16 (0.04–0.4) | 0.2 (0.1–0.7) | 0.026 |
| CTLA-4+ Tregs/μl* | 1.5 (1–2.8) | 0.4 (0.2–0.9) | 0.35 (0–0.9) | 1.2 (0.2–3.5) | < 0.001 |
| Treg/CD4+ T cells % | 0.72 (0.63–0.91) | 0.46 (0.3–0.79) | 0.42 (0.26–0.89) | 0.79 (0.53–1.4) | < 0.001 |
| Helios+ /Helios− Tregs | 0.72 (0.41–1.1) | 0.38 (0.27–0.61) | 0.34 (0.21–0.65) | 0.65 (0.39–1.4) | 0.011 |
| Treg/CD8+ T cells % | 1.4 (0.94–2.4) | 0.8 (0.4–1.5) | 0.7 (0.3–1.1) | 1.4 (0.9–1.8) | 0.002 |
Data are presented as median + interquartile range. Asterisks refer to Tregs with the marker combination CD4+ CD25+ CD127− Foxp3+
NK natural killer cells, CMV cytomegalovirus, ATG Anti-thymocyte globulin, Tac tacrolimus, CsA cyclosporine, MPA mycophenolic acid, MMF mycophenolate mofetil, AZA azathioprine, C0 – trough level
a indicates that only one patient received cyclosporine in this group