Conformational Variants of the Individual HLA-I Antigens on Luminex Single Antigen Beads Used in Monitoring HLA Antibodies

The impact of the kinetics of the anti-HLA antibodies after KTx on the occurrence of acute rejection as well as the better time-point to monitor anti-HLA Abs after transplantation is not completely defined. This prospective study followed 150 patients over 12 months after transplantation. Serum IgG anti-HLA Abs were detected by single antigen beads after typing donors and recipients for loci A, B, C, DR, and DQ. Before KTx, 89 patients did not present anti-HLA Abs and 2% developed “de novo” Abs during the 1st year, 39 patients were sensitized without DSAs, and 13% developed DSA after surgery; all of them presented ABMR. Sensitized patients presented higher acute rejection rates (36.4% versus 13.5%, p<0.001), although 60% of the patients did not present ABMR. Patients, in whom DSA-MFI decreased during the first two weeks after surgery, did not develop ABMR. Those who sustained their levels presented a rate of 22% of ABMR. 85% of patients developed ABMR when MFIs increased early after transplantation (which occurred in 30% of the DSA positive patients). In the ABMR group, we observed an iDSA-MFI sharp drop on the fourth day and then an increase between the 7th and 14th POD, which suggests DSA should be monitored at this moment in sensitized patients for better ABMR prediction.

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C1q-Binding HLA Antibodies Do Not Predict Platelet Transfusion Failure in TRAP Study Participant

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v124.21.1562.1562 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 124 (21) ◽

pp. 1562-1562

Author(s):

Rachael P. Jackman ◽

Douglas Bolgiano ◽

Mila Lebedeva ◽

Sherrill J. Slichter ◽

Philip J. Norris

Keyword(s):

Conflicts Of Interest ◽

Fluorescent Antibody ◽

Study Participant ◽

Class I ◽

Detection Methods ◽

Antibody Detection ◽

Hla Antibodies ◽

Luminex Assay ◽

Single Antigen ◽

Antibody Levels

Abstract Introduction: In the Trial to Reduce Alloimmunization to Platelets (TRAP) study, 101 of the 530 subjects became clinically refractory (CR) to platelet transfusions in the absence of detectable antibodies against HLA as measured by the lymphocytotoxicity assay (LCA). Using more sensitive bead-based detection methods we have previously demonstrated that while many of these LCA- patients do have anti-HLA antibodies, that these low to moderate level antibodies do not predict refractoriness. In addition to being less sensitive then bead based methods, the LCA screen only detects complement-binding antibodies. As these antibodies could be important for platelet rejection, we assessed if previously undetected complement-binding antibodies could account for some of the refractoriness seen in LCA- patients. Methods: 169 LCA- (69 CR, 100 non-CR) and 20 LCA+ (10 CR, 10 non-CR) subjects were selected from the TRAP study. Anti-class I HLA IgG and C1q binding antibodies were measured in serum or plasma using two different multi-analyte, semi-quantitative, bead-based fluorescent antibody detection assays: the LabScreen mixed Luminex assay, and the LabScreen single antigen class I assay with or without added EDTA (One Lambda). Groups were compared using an unpaired t-test, a=0.05, and correlation between variables was also assessed. Results: New measurements of anti-class I HLA IgG antibodies reliably reproduced earlier data with a strong correlation between the old and new measurements (R2=0.9736, p<0.0001). While some of the LCA- subjects did have detectable C1q-binding anti-class I HLA antibodies, and some LCA+ subjects did not, levels of these antibodies were significantly higher among LCA+ subjects (p<0.0001). Levels of C1q-binding anti-class I HLA antibodies were not significantly different between CR and non-CR among either the LCA- or LCA+ subjects. Conclusions: While complement-binding anti-class I HLA antibody levels were higher in the LCA+ subjects, higher levels of these antibodies were not seen in CR LCA+ patients as compared with non-CR LCA+ patients. Complement-binding anti-class I HLA antibodies do not account for refractoriness seen among the LCA- TRAP subjects. This work confirms that low to mid level anti-class I antibodies do not drive refractoriness to platelets, and suggests that antibody-independent mechanisms cause refractoriness in patients lacking higher levels of anti-HLA antibodies. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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