1
|
Molecular Patterns Discriminate Accommodation and Subclinical Antibody-mediated Rejection in Kidney Transplantation. Transplantation 2019; 103:909-917. [PMID: 30801516 DOI: 10.1097/tp.0000000000002604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Accommodation in ABO-incompatible (ABOi) transplantation and subclinical antibody-mediated rejection in HLA-incompatible (HLAi) transplantation share several morphological similarities. Because the clinical long-term outcomes differ, we hypothesized different molecular processes involved in ABOi transplantation and subclinical antibody-mediated rejection. METHODS Using Illumina Human HT-12 v4 Expression BeadChips, the whole transcriptome was evaluated based on 3-month protocol C4d+ biopsies in otherwise stable ABOi and HLAi kidney grafts, as well as in C4d-negative HLA-compatible grafts exhibiting normal histological findings. Top differently regulated genes were further validated using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction in another patient cohort and complement regulatory proteins by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS In the case of genes involved in immune response-related biological processes, ABOi and HLAi cohorts had similar transcriptomic profiles to C4d-negative controls. The majority of deregulated genes in the ABOi and HLAi groups consisted of metallothioneins and epithelial transporter genes. Increased expression of epithelial transporters (SLC4A1, SLC4A9, SLC17A3, SLC12A3, and SLC30A2) and class 1 metallothioneins (MT1F, MT1G, and MT1X) in HLAi transplantation was validated by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. In comparison to controls, both incompatible cohorts were characterized by the upregulation of intrarenal complement regulatory genes. CD46 and CD59 transcripts were increased in the ABOi cohort, whereas CD46 solely in HLAi group, and CD59 protein expression was similar in both incompatible groups. CONCLUSIONS Several epithelial transporters and metallothioneins discriminate subclinical antibody-mediated rejection in HLAi transplantation from accommodation in ABOi transplantation, which suggest different involved downstream mechanisms and increased risk of injury in HLAi settings. Metallothioneins with their antioxidative properties may help to attenuate the inflammation response induced by donor-specific anti-HLA antibody binding.
Collapse
|
2
|
Dromparis P, Aboelnazar NS, Wagner S, Himmat S, White CW, Hatami S, Luc JGY, Rotich S, Freed DH, Nagendran J, Mengel M, Adam BA. Ex vivo perfusion induces a time- and perfusate-dependent molecular repair response in explanted porcine lungs. Am J Transplant 2019; 19:1024-1036. [PMID: 30230229 DOI: 10.1111/ajt.15123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2018] [Revised: 09/13/2018] [Accepted: 09/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) shows promise in ameliorating pretransplant acute lung injury (ALI) and expanding the donor organ pool, but the mechanisms of ex vivo repair remain poorly understood. We aimed to assess the utility of gene expression for characterizing ALI during EVLP. One hundred sixty-nine porcine lung samples were collected in vivo (n = 25), after 0 (n = 11) and 12 (n = 11) hours of cold static preservation (CSP), and after 0 (n = 57), 6 (n = 8), and 12 (n = 57) hours of EVLP, utilizing various ventilation and perfusate strategies. The expression of 53 previously described ALI-related genes was measured and correlated with function and histology. Twenty-eight genes were significantly upregulated and 6 genes downregulated after 12 hours of EVLP. Aggregate gene sets demonstrated differential expression with EVLP (P < .001) but not CSP. Upregulated 28-gene set expression peaked after 6 hours of EVLP, whereas downregulated 6-gene set expression continued to decline after 12 hours. Cellular perfusates demonstrated a greater reduction in downregulated 6-gene set expression vs acellular perfusate (P < .038). Gene set expression correlated with relevant functional and histologic parameters, including P/F ratio (P < .001) and interstitial inflammation (P < .005). Further studies with posttransplant results are warranted to evaluate the clinical significance of this novel molecular approach for assessing organ quality during EVLP.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peter Dromparis
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Nader S Aboelnazar
- Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Siegfried Wagner
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Sayed Himmat
- Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Christopher W White
- Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Sanaz Hatami
- Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Jessica G Y Luc
- Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Silas Rotich
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Darren H Freed
- Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Jayan Nagendran
- Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Michael Mengel
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Benjamin A Adam
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Abstract
The identification of genes that are differentially expressed provides a molecular foothold onto biological questions of interest. Whether some genes are more likely to be differentially expressed than others, and to what degree, has never been assessed on a global scale. Here, we reanalyze more than 600 studies and find that knowledge of a gene’s prior probability of differential expression (DE) allows for accurate prediction of DE hit lists, regardless of the biological question. This result suggests redundancy in transcriptomics experiments that both informs gene set interpretation and highlights room for growth within the field. Differential expression (DE) is commonly used to explore molecular mechanisms of biological conditions. While many studies report significant results between their groups of interest, the degree to which results are specific to the question at hand is not generally assessed, potentially leading to inaccurate interpretation. This could be particularly problematic for metaanalysis where replicability across datasets is taken as strong evidence for the existence of a specific, biologically relevant signal, but which instead may arise from recurrence of generic processes. To address this, we developed an approach to predict DE based on an analysis of over 600 studies. A predictor based on empirical prior probability of DE performs very well at this task (mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, ∼0.8), indicating that a large fraction of DE hit lists are nonspecific. In contrast, predictors based on attributes such as gene function, mutation rates, or network features perform poorly. Genes associated with sex, the extracellular matrix, the immune system, and stress responses are prominent within the “DE prior.” In a series of control studies, we show that these patterns reflect shared biology rather than technical artifacts or ascertainment biases. Finally, we demonstrate the application of the DE prior to data interpretation in three use cases: (i) breast cancer subtyping, (ii) single-cell genomics of pancreatic islet cells, and (iii) metaanalysis of lung adenocarcinoma and renal transplant rejection transcriptomics. In all cases, we find hallmarks of generic DE, highlighting the need for nuanced interpretation of gene phenotypic associations.
Collapse
|
4
|
Azad TD, Donato M, Heylen L, Liu AB, Shen-Orr SS, Sweeney TE, Maltzman JS, Naesens M, Khatri P. Inflammatory macrophage-associated 3-gene signature predicts subclinical allograft injury and graft survival. JCI Insight 2018; 3:95659. [PMID: 29367465 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.95659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2017] [Accepted: 12/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Late allograft failure is characterized by cumulative subclinical insults manifesting over many years. Although immunomodulatory therapies targeting host T cells have improved short-term survival rates, rates of chronic allograft loss remain high. We hypothesized that other immune cell types may drive subclinical injury, ultimately leading to graft failure. We collected whole-genome transcriptome profiles from 15 independent cohorts composed of 1,697 biopsy samples to assess the association of an inflammatory macrophage polarization-specific gene signature with subclinical injury. We applied penalized regression to a subset of the data sets and identified a 3-gene inflammatory macrophage-derived signature. We validated discriminatory power of the 3-gene signature in 3 independent renal transplant data sets with mean AUC of 0.91. In a longitudinal cohort, the 3-gene signature strongly correlated with extent of injury and accurately predicted progression of subclinical injury 18 months before clinical manifestation. The 3-gene signature also stratified patients at high risk of graft failure as soon as 15 days after biopsy. We found that the 3-gene signature also distinguished acute rejection (AR) accurately in 3 heart transplant data sets but not in lung transplant. Overall, we identified a parsimonious signature capable of diagnosing AR, recognizing subclinical injury, and risk-stratifying renal transplant patients. Our results strongly suggest that inflammatory macrophages may be a viable therapeutic target to improve long-term outcomes for organ transplantation patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tej D Azad
- Stanford Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection and.,Division of Biomedical Informatics Research, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Michele Donato
- Stanford Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection and.,Division of Biomedical Informatics Research, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Line Heylen
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Andrew B Liu
- Stanford Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection and.,Division of Biomedical Informatics Research, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Shai S Shen-Orr
- Department of Immunology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Timothy E Sweeney
- Stanford Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection and.,Division of Biomedical Informatics Research, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Jonathan Scott Maltzman
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Maarten Naesens
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Purvesh Khatri
- Stanford Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection and.,Division of Biomedical Informatics Research, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Donor Genotype and Intragraft Expression of CYP3A5 Reflect the Response to Steroid Treatment During Acute Renal Allograft Rejection. Transplantation 2017; 101:2017-2025. [PMID: 27926596 DOI: 10.1097/tp.0000000000001584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Glucocorticoid (GC)-refractory acute rejection (AR) is a risk factor for inferior renal allograft outcome. We investigated genetic predisposition to the response to steroid treatment of acute allograft rejection. METHODS Single nucleotide polymorphisms of genes involved in GC signaling (GR, GLCCI1) and drug metabolism and transport (CYP3A5, ABCB1, and PXR) were analyzed in kidney transplant recipients (1995-2005, Leiden cohort, n = 153) treated with methylprednisolone. Significant associations were verified in a second cohort (Berlin cohort, n = 66). RESULTS Patients who received a CYP3A5*1 allele expressing allograft had a lower risk of resistance to methylprednisolone during AR (odds ratio, 0.29; 95% confidence interval, 0.11-0.79; P = 0.016 in combined cohorts analysis). No differences were observed for GC signaling or other drug metabolism/transport-related genes. Both before transplantation (n = 69) and at time of AR (n = 88), tissue CYP3A5 mRNA expression was significantly higher in CYP3A5*1 allele expressing donor kidneys than in CYP3A5*3/*3 allografts (P < 0.00001). Moreover, steroid-responsive patients (n = 64) expressed significantly higher intragraft CYP3A5 mRNA levels compared to steroid-refractory patients (n = 42) in AR (P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS CYP3A5 protein expression was detected in tubular epithelial cells and inflammatory cells within the grafts. Our findings show that steroid resistance during AR is associated with donor genotype and intragraft expression levels of CYP3A5.
Collapse
|
6
|
Sweeney TE, Haynes WA, Vallania F, Ioannidis JP, Khatri P. Methods to increase reproducibility in differential gene expression via meta-analysis. Nucleic Acids Res 2016; 45:e1. [PMID: 27634930 PMCID: PMC5224496 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2016] [Revised: 08/28/2016] [Accepted: 08/31/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Findings from clinical and biological studies are often not reproducible when tested in independent cohorts. Due to the testing of a large number of hypotheses and relatively small sample sizes, results from whole-genome expression studies in particular are often not reproducible. Compared to single-study analysis, gene expression meta-analysis can improve reproducibility by integrating data from multiple studies. However, there are multiple choices in designing and carrying out a meta-analysis. Yet, clear guidelines on best practices are scarce. Here, we hypothesized that studying subsets of very large meta-analyses would allow for systematic identification of best practices to improve reproducibility. We therefore constructed three very large gene expression meta-analyses from clinical samples, and then examined meta-analyses of subsets of the datasets (all combinations of datasets with up to N/2 samples and K/2 datasets) compared to a ‘silver standard’ of differentially expressed genes found in the entire cohort. We tested three random-effects meta-analysis models using this procedure. We showed relatively greater reproducibility with more-stringent effect size thresholds with relaxed significance thresholds; relatively lower reproducibility when imposing extraneous constraints on residual heterogeneity; and an underestimation of actual false positive rate by Benjamini–Hochberg correction. In addition, multivariate regression showed that the accuracy of a meta-analysis increased significantly with more included datasets even when controlling for sample size.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Timothy E Sweeney
- Stanford Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Biomedical Informatics Research, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Winston A Haynes
- Biomedical Informatics Research, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Francesco Vallania
- Stanford Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Biomedical Informatics Research, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - John P Ioannidis
- Department of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Department of Statistics, Stanford University School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Meta-research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS), Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Purvesh Khatri
- Stanford Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA .,Biomedical Informatics Research, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Rekers NV, de Fijter J, Claas FH, Eikmans M. Mechanisms and risk assessment of steroid resistance in acute kidney transplant rejection. Transpl Immunol 2016; 38:3-14. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trim.2016.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2016] [Accepted: 07/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
|
8
|
Rekers NV, Bajema IM, Mallat MJK, Petersen B, Anholts JDH, Swings GMJS, van Miert PPMC, Kerkhoff C, Roth J, Popp D, van Groningen MC, Baeten D, Goemaere N, Kraaij MD, Zandbergen M, Heidt S, van Kooten C, de Fijter JW, Claas FHJ, Eikmans M. Beneficial Immune Effects of Myeloid-Related Proteins in Kidney Transplant Rejection. Am J Transplant 2016; 16:1441-55. [PMID: 26607974 DOI: 10.1111/ajt.13634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2015] [Revised: 11/12/2015] [Accepted: 11/14/2015] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Acute rejection is a risk factor for inferior long-term kidney transplant survival. Although T cell immunity is considered the main effector in clinical acute rejection, the role of myeloid cells is less clear. Expression of S100 calcium-binding protein A8 (S100A8) and S100A9 was evaluated in 303 biopsies before and after transplantation from 190 patients. In two independent cohorts of patients with acute rejection (n = 98 and n = 11; mostly cellular rejections), high expression of S100 calcium-binding protein A8 (S100A8) and A9 (S100A9) was related to improved graft outcome. Mechanisms of action of the S100 molecules were investigated. In the graft and peripheral blood cells, S100A8 and S100A9 expression correlated with myeloid-derived suppressor markers. In line with this finding, recombinant S100A8 and S100A9 proteins inhibited maturation and the allogeneic T cell stimulatory capacity of dendritic cells. S100A9 enhanced the production of reactive oxygen species by macrophages, which suppressed T cell activity at low concentrations in the form of hydrogen peroxide. Intragraft S100A8 and S100A9 expression linked to reduced expression of T cell immunity and tissue injury markers and higher expression of immune regulatory molecules. This study sheds new light on the importance of myeloid cell subsets in directing the outcome of T cell-mediated acute rejection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- N V Rekers
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - I M Bajema
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - M J K Mallat
- Department of Nephrology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - B Petersen
- Institute of Immunology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.,Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz-Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - J D H Anholts
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - G M J S Swings
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - P P M C van Miert
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - C Kerkhoff
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Department of Immunology, Rostock, Germany.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - J Roth
- Institute of Immunology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - D Popp
- Institute of Immunology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - M C van Groningen
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - D Baeten
- Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Academic Medical Center/University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - N Goemaere
- Department of Pathology, Maasstad Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - M D Kraaij
- Department of Nephrology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - M Zandbergen
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - S Heidt
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - C van Kooten
- Department of Nephrology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - J W de Fijter
- Department of Nephrology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - F H J Claas
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - M Eikmans
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
MP Resulting in Autophagic Cell Death of Microglia through Zinc Changes against Spinal Cord Injury. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2016; 2016:6090316. [PMID: 27057544 PMCID: PMC4736586 DOI: 10.1155/2016/6090316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2015] [Accepted: 02/16/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Methylprednisolone pulse therapy (MPPT), as a public recognized therapy of spinal cord injury (SCI), is doubted recently, and the exact mechanism of MP on SCI is unclear. This study sought to investigate the exact effect of MP on SCI. We examined the effect of MP in a model of SCI in vivo and an LPS induced model in vitro. We found that administration of MP produced an increase in the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan scores and motor neurons counts of injured rats. Besides the number of activated microglia was apparently reduced by MP in vivo, and Beclin-1 dependent autophagic cell death of microglia was induced by MP in LPS induced model. At the same time, MP increases cellular zinc concentration and level of ZIP8, and TPEN could revert effect of MP on autophagic cell death of microglia. Finally, we have found that MP could inhibit NF-κβ in LPS induced model. These results show that the MP could result in autophagic cell death of microglia, which mainly depends on increasing cellular labile zinc, and may be associated with inhibition of NF-κβ, and that MP can produce neuroprotective effect in SCI.
Collapse
|
10
|
Heidt S, Eikmans M, Roelen DL, van Kooten C, Claas FH. Immunogenetics and immunology of transplantation in Leiden. Transpl Immunol 2014; 31:195-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trim.2014.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
|
11
|
Glucocorticoid resistance in dialysis patients reduces long-term graft survival after kidney transplantation. Transpl Immunol 2014; 30:145-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trim.2014.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2014] [Revised: 04/06/2014] [Accepted: 04/07/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
|
12
|
Eikmans M, Anholts JDH, Claas FHJ. Gene expression analysis by qPCR in clinical kidney transplantation. Methods Mol Biol 2014; 1160:147-163. [PMID: 24740229 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-0733-5_14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Patients with a kidney transplant may encounter chronic dysfunction of their graft. Once damage in the graft has established, therapeutic intervention is less efficient. Clinical parameters and morphologic evaluation of biopsies are used for determining diagnosis and prognosis of the patient. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) may be integrated in clinical practice to facilitate routine diagnostics, risk assessment with respect to graft outcome, and determination of the response to therapy by the patient. The success of qPCR assays is highly dependent on the adequacy of the methodological procedures performed. Here, we describe tips and tricks for processing patient material, RNA analysis, and qPCR primer design and gene expression analyses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Eikmans
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, Leiden, 2333 ZA, The Netherlands,
| | | | | |
Collapse
|