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Gardiner BJ, Lee SJ, Cristiano Y, Levvey BJ, Sullivan LC, Snell GI, Peleg AY, Westall GP. Evaluation of Quantiferon®-Monitor as a biomarker of immunosuppression and predictor of infection in lung transplant recipients. Transpl Infect Dis 2021; 23:e13550. [PMID: 33351991 DOI: 10.1111/tid.13550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Optimizing immunosuppression in lung transplant recipients (LTR) is crucially important in minimizing the risk of infection and rejection. Quantiferon®-Monitor (QFM) is a candidate immune function biomarker which has not yet been rigorously evaluated in the lung transplant setting. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to explore relationships between QFM results, immunosuppression, and infection/rejection in LTR. METHODS QFM, which measures interferon-γ after stimulation with innate and adaptive immune antigens, was tested before and at 2, 6, 12, 24 and 52 weeks post-transplant. Immunosuppression relationships were assessed with linear mixed effects models. Clinical outcomes were analyzed based on the preceding QFM result. RESULTS Eighty LTR were included. Median pre-transplant QFM levels were 171 IU/mL (IQR 45-461), decreasing to 3 IU/mL (IQR 1-8) at 2 weeks post-transplant then progressively recovering toward baseline with time from transplant. Prednisolone was strongly inversely associated with QFM level (0.1 mg/kg dose increase correlating with 88 IU/mL QFM decrease, 95% CI 61-114, P < .001). Patients with QFM values <10 and <60 IU/mL were more likely to develop a serious opportunistic infection between 3 and 6 months (HR 6.38, 95% CI 1.37-29.66, P = .02) and 6-12 months (HR 3.25, 95% CI 1.11-9.49, P = .03) post-transplant, respectively. CONCLUSIONS QFM values declined significantly post-transplant, with patients recovering at different rates. Prednisolone dose significantly impacted QFM results. Low levels were associated with infection beyond 3 months post-transplant, suggesting that QFM may be able to identify overly immunosuppressed patients who could be targeted for dose reduction. Larger prospective studies are needed to further evaluate this promising assay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley J Gardiner
- Department of Infectious Disease, Alfred Health and Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sue J Lee
- Department of Infectious Disease, Alfred Health and Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Yvonne Cristiano
- Department of Respiratory Medicine & Lung Transplantation, Alfred Health and Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Bronwyn J Levvey
- Department of Respiratory Medicine & Lung Transplantation, Alfred Health and Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Lucy C Sullivan
- Department of Respiratory Medicine & Lung Transplantation, Alfred Health and Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Melbourne and Peter Doherty Institute for Infection & Immunity, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Gregory I Snell
- Department of Respiratory Medicine & Lung Transplantation, Alfred Health and Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Anton Y Peleg
- Department of Infectious Disease, Alfred Health and Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Glen P Westall
- Department of Respiratory Medicine & Lung Transplantation, Alfred Health and Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Marx S, Adam C, Mihm J, Weyrich M, Sester U, Sester M. A Polyclonal Immune Function Assay Allows Dose-Dependent Characterization of Immunosuppressive Drug Effects but Has Limited Clinical Utility for Predicting Infection on an Individual Basis. Front Immunol 2020; 11:916. [PMID: 32499781 PMCID: PMC7243819 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.00916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Dosage of immunosuppressive drugs after transplantation critically determines rejection and infection episodes. In this study, a global immune function assay was characterized among controls, dialysis-patients, and transplant-recipients to evaluate its utility for pharmacodynamic monitoring of immunosuppressive drugs and for predicting infections. Whole-blood samples were stimulated with anti-CD3/toll-like-receptor (TLR7/8)-agonist in the presence or absence of drugs and IFN-γ secretion was measured by ELISA. Additional stimulation-induced cytokines were characterized among T-, B-, and NK-cells using flow-cytometry. Cytokine-secretion was dominated by IFN-γ, and mainly observed in CD4, CD8, and NK-cells. Intra-assay variability was low (CV = 10.4 ± 6.2%), whereas variability over time was high, even in the absence of clinical events (CV = 65.0 ± 35.7%). Cyclosporine A, tacrolimus and steroids dose-dependently inhibited IFN-γ secretion, and reactivity was further reduced when calcineurin inhibitors were combined with steroids. Moreover, IFN-γ levels significantly differed between controls, dialysis-patients, and transplant-recipients, with lowest IFN-γ levels early after transplantation (p < 0.001). However, a single test had limited ability to predict infectious episodes. In conclusion, the assay may have potential for basic pharmacodynamic characterization of immunosuppressive drugs and their combinations, and for assessing loss of global immunocompetence after transplantation, but its application to guide drug-dosing and to predict infectious on an individual basis is limited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Marx
- Department of Transplant and Infection Immunology, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Adam
- Department of Internal Medicine IV, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
| | - Janine Mihm
- Department of Internal Medicine IV, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
| | - Michael Weyrich
- Department of Internal Medicine IV, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
| | - Urban Sester
- Department of Internal Medicine IV, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
| | - Martina Sester
- Department of Transplant and Infection Immunology, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
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