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Calabrese DR, Shaver CM. The Emperor Has Some Clothes: Emerging Molecular Diagnostics in Post-Lung Transplant Decision-Making. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2024; 209:1182-1184. [PMID: 38387008 DOI: 10.1164/rccm.202401-0059ed] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel R Calabrese
- Department of Medicine University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, California
- San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Francisco, California
| | - Ciara M Shaver
- Department of Medicine Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, Tennessee
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Alam AH, Van Zyl J, Shakoor HI, Farsakh D, Abdelrehim AB, Maliakkal N, Jamil AK, Patel R, Felius J, McKean S, Hall SA. The impact of active cytomegalovirus infection on donor-derived cell-free DNA testing in heart transplant recipients. Clin Transplant 2024; 38:e15287. [PMID: 38477177 DOI: 10.1111/ctr.15287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2024] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Little is known about the relationship between cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections and donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) in heart transplant recipients. METHODS In our study, CMV and dd-cfDNA results were prospectively collected on single-organ heart transplant recipients. If the CMV study was positive, a CMV study with dd-cfDNA was repeated 1-3 months later. The primary aim was to compare dd-cfDNA between patients with positive and negative CMV results. RESULTS Of 44 patients enrolled between August 2022 and April 2023, 12 tested positive for CMV infections, 25 were included as controls, and seven patients with a viral infection without CMV were excluded. Baseline characteristics did not differ significantly between CMV-positive and CMV-negative patients with the exception of a later median time post-transplant in the CMV-positive group (253 days vs. 120 days, p = .03). Dd-cfDNA levels were significantly higher in patients with CMV infections compared to those without (p < .001) with more patients in the CMV positive group showing dd-cfDNA results ≥.12% (75% vs. 8%, p < .001) and ≥.20% (58% vs. 8%, p = .002). Each 1 log10 copy/ml reduction in CMV viral load from visit 1 to visit 2 was associated with a.23% reduction in log10 dd-cfDNA (p = .002). CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that active CMV infections may raise dd-cfDNA levels in patients following heart transplantation. Larger studies are needed to validate these preliminary findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit H Alam
- Division of Cardiology, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York, USA
| | - Johanna Van Zyl
- Texas A&M University Health Science Center College of Medicine, Dallas, Texas, USA
- Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Hira I Shakoor
- Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Dana Farsakh
- Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Ahmad B Abdelrehim
- Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Neville Maliakkal
- Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Aayla K Jamil
- Texas A&M University Health Science Center College of Medicine, Dallas, Texas, USA
- Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Raksha Patel
- Center for Advanced Heart and Lung Disease, Baylor University Medical Center, Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Joost Felius
- Texas A&M University Health Science Center College of Medicine, Dallas, Texas, USA
- Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Staci McKean
- Center for Advanced Heart and Lung Disease, Baylor University Medical Center, Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Shelley A Hall
- Texas A&M University Health Science Center College of Medicine, Dallas, Texas, USA
- Center for Advanced Heart and Lung Disease, Baylor University Medical Center, Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, Texas, USA
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Acute allograft rejection is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in heart and lung transplantation. Unfortunately, the current monitoring gold standard-biopsy plus histopathology-has several limitations. Plasma donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) has emerged as a potentially valuable biomarker for rejection that addresses some of the limitations of biopsy. This review covers the current state of the evidence and future directions for the use of dd-cfDNA in the monitoring of acute rejection. RECENT FINDINGS The results of several observational cohort studies demonstrate that levels of dd-cfDNA increase in the setting of acute cellular rejection and antibody-mediated rejection in both heart and lung transplant recipients. dd-cfDNA demonstrates acceptable performance characteristics, but low specificity for the detection of underlying injury from rejection or infection. In particular, the high negative predictive value of the test in both heart and lung transplant patients provides the potential for its use as a screening tool for the monitoring of allograft health rather than tissue biopsy alone. SUMMARY Existing evidence shows that dd-cfDNA is a safe, convenient, and reliable method of acute rejection monitoring in heart and lung transplant recipients. Further studies are required to validate threshold values for clinical use and determine its role in the diagnosis of alternative forms of allograft injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Keller
- grid.94365.3d0000 0001 2297 5165Laborarory of Applied Precision Omics (APO) and Genomic Research Alliance for Transplantation (GRAfT), National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD USA ,grid.94365.3d0000 0001 2297 5165Department of Critical Care Medicine, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD USA ,grid.411935.b0000 0001 2192 2723Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Sean Agbor-Enoh
- grid.94365.3d0000 0001 2297 5165Laborarory of Applied Precision Omics (APO) and Genomic Research Alliance for Transplantation (GRAfT), National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD USA ,grid.411935.b0000 0001 2192 2723Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD USA ,grid.279885.90000 0001 2293 4638Lasker Clinical Research Tenure Track, Laboratory of Applied Precision Omics, Division of Intramural Research, NHLBI, 10 Center Dr, Rm 7D5, Baltimore, USA
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