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Mooslechner AA, Schuller M, Pfeifer V, Klötzer KA, Prietl B, Kirsch AH, Stiegler P, Sucher R, Sourij H, Rosenkranz AR, Eller K. Pre-Transplant Frequencies of FoxP3 +CD25 + in CD3 +CD8 + T Cells as Potential Predictors for CMV in CMV-Intermediate Risk Kidney Transplant Recipients. Transpl Int 2024; 37:12963. [PMID: 38868358 PMCID: PMC11167633 DOI: 10.3389/ti.2024.12963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection detrimentally influences graft survival in kidney transplant recipients, with the risk primarily determined by recipient and donor serostatus. However, recipient CD8+ T cells play a crucial role in CMV control. The optimal preventive strategy (prophylaxis vs. pre-emptive treatment), particularly for seropositive (intermediate risk) recipients, remains uncertain. We investigated CD8+ T cell subpopulation dynamics and CMV occurrence (DNAemia ≥ 100 IU/mL) in 65 kidney transplant recipients, collecting peripheral blood mononuclear cells before (T1) and 1 year after transplantation (T2). Comparing the two timepoints, we found an increase in granulocyte, monocyte and CD3+CD8+ T cells numbers, while FoxP3+CD25+, LAG-3+ and PD-1+ frequencies were reduced at T2. CMV DNAemia occurred in 33 recipients (55.8%) during the first year. Intermediate risk patients were disproportionally affected by posttransplant CMV (N = 29/45, 64.4%). Intermediate risk recipients developing CMV after transplantation exhibited lower leukocyte, monocyte, and granulocyte counts and higher FoxP3+CD25+ frequencies in CD3+CD8+ T cells pre-transplantation compared to patients staying CMV negative. Pre-transplant FoxP3+CD25+ in CD3+CD8+ T cells had the best discriminatory potential for CMV infection prediction within the first year after transplantation (AUC: 0.746). The FoxP3+CD25+ CD3+CD8+ T cell subset may aid in selecting intermediate risk kidney transplant recipients for CMV prophylaxis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnes A. Mooslechner
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Otto Loewi Research Center, Division of Pharmacology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Max Schuller
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Verena Pfeifer
- Center for Biomarker Research in Medicine, CBmed GmbH, Graz, Austria
- Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Konstantin A. Klötzer
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Barbara Prietl
- Center for Biomarker Research in Medicine, CBmed GmbH, Graz, Austria
- Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Alexander H. Kirsch
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Philipp Stiegler
- Division of General, Visceral and Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Robert Sucher
- Division of General, Visceral and Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Harald Sourij
- Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Alexander R. Rosenkranz
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Kathrin Eller
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
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Payne AT, Lindner BK, Gilbert AJ, Kumar RN, Thomas BS, Timpone JG. Evaluation of cytomegalovirus "Blips" in high risk kidney/kidney-pancreas transplant recipients. Transpl Infect Dis 2022; 24:e13789. [PMID: 35014122 DOI: 10.1111/tid.13789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality after solid organ transplantation. While guidelines suggest using highly sensitive QNAT assays for CMV detection, there is no defined viral load to guide initiation of preemptive therapy.1,2 This study evaluates the progression to quantifiable CMV (DNAemia) following a CMV "blip" in high risk (D+/R) kidney/kidney-pancreas (KP) transplant recipients. METHODS This is a single center, retrospective study. A CMV "blip" was defined as the first positive QNAT assay below the level of quantification (< 1.37×102 IU/mL or < 200 viral copies). Subsequent CMV QNAT assays were followed to assess the progression from blip to CMV DNAemia for 1 year following transplant. RESULTS 134 patients were included in the study. Fifty-three (39.6%) patients had their first positive CMV QNAT value below the level of quantification, a "CMV blip". Of these 53 patients, 69.8% (n = 37) progressed to DNAemia while 30.2% (n = 16) did not. The median time from transplant to the first CMV blip was 68 (46-97) days and most patients with viral blips (71.1%) were on prophylaxis. No differences in patient characteristics were found among those who progressed from blip to DNAemia and those who only had a blip. CONCLUSIONS In CMV high risk kidney/KP transplant recipients, CMV blips progressed to CMV DNAemia in the majority of cases. This progression typically occurred 2-3 weeks following the initial blip. CMV blips are common early post-transplant despite prophylaxis and likely represent an early marker of CMV infection. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra T Payne
- Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - Brian K Lindner
- MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Department of Pharmacy, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - Alexander J Gilbert
- MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Transplant Institute, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - Rebecca N Kumar
- MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - Beje S Thomas
- MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Transplant Institute, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
| | - Joseph G Timpone
- MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Washington, DC, 20007, USA
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Ahn R, Schaenman J, Qian Z, Pickering H, Groysberg V, Rossetti M, Llamas M, Hoffmann A, Gjertson D, Deng M, Bunnapradist S, Reed EF. Acute and Chronic Changes in Gene Expression After CMV DNAemia in Kidney Transplant Recipients. Front Immunol 2021; 12:750659. [PMID: 34867983 PMCID: PMC8634678 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.750659] [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: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality in kidney transplant patients with clinical complications including organ rejection and death. Whole blood gene expression dynamics in CMV viremic patients from onset of DNAemia through convalescence has not been well studied to date in humans. To evaluate how CMV infection impacts whole blood leukocyte gene expression over time, we evaluated a matched cohort of 62 kidney transplant recipients with and without CMV DNAemia using blood samples collected at multiple time points during the 12-month period after transplant. While transcriptomic differences were minimal at baseline between DNAemic and non-DNAemic patients, hundreds of genes were differentially expressed at the long-term timepoint, including genes enriching for pathways important for macrophages, interferon, and IL-8 signaling. Amongst patients with CMV DNAemia, the greatest amount of transcriptomic change occurred between baseline and 1-week post-DNAemia, with increase in pathways for interferon signaling and cytotoxic T cell function. Time-course gene set analysis of these differentially expressed genes revealed that most of the enriched pathways had a significant time-trend. While many pathways that were significantly down- or upregulated at 1 week returned to baseline-like levels, we noted that several pathways important in adaptive and innate cell function remained upregulated at the long-term timepoint after resolution of CMV DNAemia. Differential expression analysis and time-course gene set analysis revealed the dynamics of genes and pathways involved in the immune response to CMV DNAemia in kidney transplant patients. Understanding transcriptional changes caused by CMV DNAemia may identify the mechanism behind patient vulnerability to CMV reactivation and increased risk of rejection in transplant recipients and suggest protective strategies to counter the negative immunologic impact of CMV. These findings provide a framework to identify immune correlates for risk assessment and guiding need for extending antiviral prophylaxis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Ahn
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.,Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Joanna Schaenman
- Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Zachary Qian
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.,Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Harry Pickering
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Victoria Groysberg
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Maura Rossetti
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Megan Llamas
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Alexander Hoffmann
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.,Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - David Gjertson
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.,Department of Biostatistics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Mario Deng
- Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Suphamai Bunnapradist
- Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Elaine F Reed
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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Shi Y, Lerner AH, Rogers R, Vieira K, Merhi B, Mecadon K, Osband AJ, Bayliss G, Gohh R, Morrissey P, Farmakiotis D. Low-Dose Valganciclovir Prophylaxis Is Safe and Cost-Saving in CMV-Seropositive Kidney Transplant Recipients. Prog Transplant 2021; 31:368-376. [PMID: 34839729 DOI: 10.1177/15269248211046037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Observational studies suggest that low-dose valganciclovir prophylaxis (450 mg daily for normal renal function) is as effective as and perhaps safer than standard-dose valganciclovir (900 mg daily) in preventing CMV infection among kidney transplant recipients. However, this practice is not supported by current guidelines due to concerns for breakthrough infection from resistant CMV, mainly in high-risk CMV donor-seropositive/recipient-seronegative kidney transplant recipients. Standard-dose valganciclovir is costly and possibly associated with higher incidence of neutropenia and BKV DNAemia. Our institution adopted low-dose valganciclovir prophylaxis for intermediate-risk (seropositive) kidney transplant recipients in January 2018. Research Question: To analyze the efficacy (CMV DNAemia), safety (BK virus DNAemia, neutropenia, graft loss, and death), and cost savings associated with this change. Design: We retrospectively compared the above outcomes between CMV-seropositive kidney transplant recipients who received low-dose and standard-dose valganciclovir, transplanted within our institution, between 1/19/2014 and 7/15/2019, using propensity score-adjusted competing risk analyses. We also compared cost estimates between the two dosing regimens, for 3 months of prophylaxis, and for different percentage of patient-weeks with normal renal function, using the current average wholesale price of valganciclovir. Results: We studied 179 CMV-seropositive kidney transplant recipients, of whom 55 received low-dose and 124 standard-dose valganciclovir. The majority received nonlymphocyte depleting induction (basiliximab). Low-dose valganciclovir was at least as effective and safe as, and more cost-saving than standard-dose valganciclovir. Conclusion: This single-center study contributes to mounting evidence for future guidelines to be adjusted in favor of low-dose valganciclovir prophylaxis in CMV-seropositive kidney transplant recipients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiyun Shi
- 12321Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Alexis Hope Lerner
- 12321Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Ralph Rogers
- 12321Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Kendra Vieira
- 12321Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Basma Merhi
- 12321Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | | | - Adena J Osband
- 12321Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - George Bayliss
- 12321Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Reginald Gohh
- 12321Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Paul Morrissey
- 12321Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
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Pickering H, Sen S, Arakawa-Hoyt J, Ishiyama K, Sun Y, Parmar R, Ahn RS, Sunga G, Llamas M, Hoffmann A, Deng M, Bunnapradist S, Schaenman JM, Gjertson DW, Rossetti M, Lanier LL, Reed EF. NK and CD8+ T cell phenotypes predict onset and control of CMV viremia after kidney transplant. JCI Insight 2021; 6:153175. [PMID: 34609965 PMCID: PMC8663544 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.153175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
CMV causes mostly asymptomatic but lifelong infection. Primary infection or reactivation in immunocompromised individuals can be life-threatening. CMV viremia often occurs in solid organ transplant recipients and associates with decreased graft survival and higher mortality. Furthering understanding of impaired immunity that allows CMV reactivation is critical to guiding antiviral therapy and examining the effect of CMV on solid organ transplant outcomes. This study characterized longitudinal immune responses to CMV in 31 kidney transplant recipients with CMV viremia and matched, nonviremic recipients. Recipients were sampled 3 and 12 months after transplant, with additional samples 1 week and 1 month after viremia. PBMCs were stained for NK and T cell markers. PBMC transcriptomes were characterized by RNA-Seq. Plasma proteins were quantified by Luminex. CD8+ T cell transcriptomes were characterized by single-cell RNA-Seq. Before viremia, patients had high levels of IL-15 with concurrent expansion of immature CD56bright NK cells. After viremia, mature CD56dim NK cells and CD28–CD8+ T cells upregulating inhibitory and NK-associated receptors were expanded. Memory NK cells and NK-like CD28–CD8+ T cells were associated with control of viremia. These findings suggest that signatures of innate activation may be prognostic for CMV reactivation after transplant, while CD8+ T cell functionality is critical for effective control of CMV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry Pickering
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Subha Sen
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Janice Arakawa-Hoyt
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Kenichi Ishiyama
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Yumeng Sun
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Rajesh Parmar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Richard S Ahn
- Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics.,Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences, and
| | - Gemalene Sunga
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Megan Llamas
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Alexander Hoffmann
- Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences, and.,Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Mario Deng
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Suphamai Bunnapradist
- Division of Nephrology, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Joanna M Schaenman
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - David W Gjertson
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Biostatistics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Maura Rossetti
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Lewis L Lanier
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Elaine F Reed
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
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