scholarly journals High Pretransplant BAFF Levels and B-cell Subset Polarized towards a Memory Phenotype as Predictive Biomarkers for Antibody-Mediated Rejection

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Irure-Ventura ◽  
David San Segundo ◽  
Emilio Rodrigo ◽  
David Merino ◽  
Lara Belmar-Vega ◽  
...  

Antibody-mediated rejection (AbMR) is one of the leading causes of graft loss in kidney transplantation and B cells play an important role in the development of it. A B-cell activating factor (BAFF) is a cytokine involved in B cell ontogeny. Here, we analyzed whether B cell maturation and the effect of B cell soluble factors, such as BAFF could be involved in AbMR. Serum BAFF levels and B and T cell subpopulations were analyzed 109 kidney transplant patients before transplantation and at 6 and 12 months after kidney transplantation. Pretransplant serum BAFF levels as well as memory B cell subpopulations were significantly higher in those patients who suffered clinical AbMR during the first 12 months after kidney transplantation. Similar results were observed in the prospective analysis of patients with subclinical antibody-mediated rejection detected in the surveillance biopsy performed at 12 months after kidney transplantation. A multivariate analysis confirmed the independent role of BAFF in the development of AbMR, irrespective of other classical variables. Pretransplant serum BAFF levels could be an important non-invasive biomarker for the prediction of the development of AbMR and posttransplant increased serum BAFF levels contribute to AbMR.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 193
Author(s):  
Adrian Martuszewski ◽  
Patrycja Paluszkiewicz ◽  
Magdalena Król ◽  
Mirosław Banasik ◽  
Marta Kepinska

Kidney transplantation (KTx) is the best treatment method for end-stage kidney disease. KTx improves the patient’s quality of life and prolongs their survival time; however, not all patients benefit fully from the transplantation procedure. For some patients, a problem is the premature loss of graft function due to immunological or non-immunological factors. Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is degraded deoxyribonucleic acid fragments that are released into the blood and other body fluids. Donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) is cfDNA that is exogenous to the patient and comes from a transplanted organ. As opposed to an invasive biopsy, dd-cfDNA can be detected by a non-invasive analysis of a sample. The increase in dd-cfDNA concentration occurs even before the creatinine level starts rising, which may enable early diagnosis of transplant injury and adequate treatment to avoid premature graft loss. In this paper, we summarise the latest promising results related to cfDNA in transplant patients.


Author(s):  
Antonia Margarete Schuster ◽  
N. Miesgang ◽  
L. Steines ◽  
C. Bach ◽  
B. Banas ◽  
...  

AbstractThe B cell activating factor BAFF has gained importance in the context of kidney transplantation due to its role in B cell survival. Studies have shown that BAFF correlates with an increased incidence of antibody-mediated rejection and the development of donor-specific antibodies. In this study, we analyzed a defined cohort of kidney transplant recipients who were treated with standardized immunosuppressive regimens according to their immunological risk profile. The aim was to add BAFF as an awareness marker in the course after transplantation to consider patient’s individual immunological risk profile. Included patients were transplanted between 2016 and 2018. Baseline data, graft function, the occurrence of rejection episodes, signs of microvascular infiltration, and DSA kinetics were recorded over 3 years. BAFF levels were determined 14 d, 3 and 12 months post transplantation. Although no difference in graft function could be observed, medium-risk patients showed a clear dynamic in their BAFF levels with low levels shortly after transplantation and an increase in values of 123% over the course of 1 year. Patients with high BAFF values were more susceptible to rejection, especially antibody-mediated rejection and displayed intensified microvascular inflammation; the combination of high BAFF + DSA puts patients at risk. The changing BAFF kinetics of the medium risk group as well as the increased occurrence of rejections at high BAFF values enables BAFF to be seen as an awareness factor. To compensate the changing immunological risk, a switch from a weaker induction therapy to an intensified maintenance therapy is required.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Víctor A. Sosa-Hernández ◽  
Jiram Torres-Ruíz ◽  
Rodrigo Cervantes-Díaz ◽  
Sandra Romero-Ramírez ◽  
José C. Páez-Franco ◽  
...  

BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 infection represents a global health problem that has affected millions of people. The fine host immune response and its association with the disease course have not yet been fully elucidated. Consequently, we analyze circulating B cell subsets and their possible relationship with COVID-19 features and severity.MethodsUsing a multiparametric flow cytometric approach, we determined B cell subsets frequencies from 52 COVID-19 patients, grouped them by hierarchical cluster analysis, and correlated their values with clinical data.ResultsThe frequency of CD19+ B cells is increased in severe COVID-19 compared to mild cases. Specific subset frequencies such as transitional B cell subsets increase in mild/moderate cases but decrease with the severity of the disease. Memory B compartment decreased in severe and critical cases, and antibody-secreting cells are increased according to the severity of the disease. Other non-typical subsets such as double-negative B cells also showed significant changes according to disease severity. Globally, these differences allow us to identify severity-associated patient clusters with specific altered subsets. Finally, respiratory parameters, biomarkers of inflammation, and clinical scores exhibited correlations with some of these subpopulations.ConclusionsThe severity of COVID-19 is accompanied by changes in the B cell subpopulations, either immature or terminally differentiated. Furthermore, the existing relationship of B cell subset frequencies with clinical and laboratory parameters suggest that these lymphocytes could serve as potential biomarkers and even active participants in the adaptive antiviral response mounted against SARS-CoV-2.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shyam Bansal ◽  
Ashwini Gade

Abstract Background and Aims There are many barriers to kidney transplant and one of them is presence of donor specific antibodies (DSAs) in the recipients. Presence of strong DSA is considered a relative contraindication for kidney transplantation, however, if DSAs are of weak to moderate then desensitization is attempted in many centres with good success rate. Desensitizing such patients can be an acceptable approach to increase the donor pool and facilitating transplants. This is a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent desensitization at our centre after availability of luminex single antigen (LSA) assay Method Between April 2014 and December 2018, 825 patients underwent kidney transplantation at our centre. Patients who were CDC negative but positive FCXM were further analysed with LSA to know the presence and strength of DSAs. Our protocol for desensitization consisted of plasmapheresis (PP) 1.5 volume by double filtration on alternate day and low dose IV IG 100 mg/kg after each PP. Whenever MFI was <1000 and/or FCXM was negative, patient was taken for transplant with thymoglobulin induction of 1.5 mg/kg for 2-3 doses. All patients were maintained on triple immunosuppression consisting of tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil and corticosteroids. We did not routinely followed DSAs in these patients post-transplant if there was no clinical indication. All adverse events during follow up including new onset diabetes after transplant (NODAT), infections, acute rejections (AR), graft loss and death Results Out of 825 patients, 15 underwent HLA incompatible transplants, of which, 8 were males. All patients were first transplant and 11/13 had history of some sensitizing events in the form of blood transfusion and/or pregnancy. The mean dialysis duration was 8.6 ±14.6 months. FCXM was positive in all the patients with 5 patients had T cell flow positive, 8 had B cell flow positive and 2 had both T & B cell FCXM positivity. Most patients had weak to moderate positive flow cross match. On further evaluation by LSA, all these patients had DSAs, with 3/15 had MFI <1000, 6 had MFI between1000-2000, and remaining 6 had MFI >2000, out of which one patient had MFI of 7195 and six patients had multiple DSAs. These patients underwent desensitization with PP and IVIG and the end point of treatment was either MFI < 1000 or FCXM negative. Post- transplant DSAs were done in patients with high MFI or clinically indicated. Two patients had increase in post-transplant DSA titres requiring post-transplant plasmapheresis. The mean follow up was 29±6 months. On follow up, only 1 patient developed borderline cellular rejection one year after transplant, which responded with pulse steroids. Three patients had biopsy for asymptomatic rise in creatinine but it showed patchy ATN with no evidence of rejection.. One patient developed transient CMV viremia, one patient developed lymph node tuberculosis (TB) and two patients had UTI, all of them responded to treatment. There was no graft or patient loss till last follow up. Conclusion This study shows that HLA desensitisation is feasible and successful in if patients are selected carefully and evaluate thoroughly. HLA incompatible transplant can provide a new lease of life to those patients who would otherwise not get a kidney due to lack of paired exchange and deceased donor program


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alaa Abbas Ali ◽  
Safaa E. Almukhtar ◽  
Kais H. Abd ◽  
Zana Sidiq M. Saleem ◽  
Dana A. Sharif ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In the developing world, transplantation is the most common long-term treatment for patients with end-stage renal disease, but rates and causes of graft failure are uncertain. Methods This was a retrospective outcomes study of renal transplant patients seen in Iraqi Kurdistan nephrology clinics in the year 2019. In 2019, 871 renal transplant patients were registered and outcomes followed through 12/31/2020. Indicated renal biopsies were obtained on 431 patients at 1 day to 18 years post-transplantation. Outcomes were compared with United States Renal Data System (USRDS) living donor reports. Results All donors were living. The recipient age was 38.5 ± 13.3 years, 98.2% were < 65 years old, 3.7% had previous transplants, and 2.8% had pretransplant donor-specific antibodies (DSA). Gehan-Breslow estimated failure rates for all-cause, return to HD, and death with functional graft were 6.0, 4.2, and 1.9% at 1 year and 18.1, 13.7, and 5.1% at 5 years post-engraftment (USRDS 2000; 1 year: 7.0, 5.0, 2.6%; 5 year: 22.3, 15.2, 10.6%. USRDS 2010; 1 year: 3.7, 2.4, 1.4%; 5 year: 15.3, 9.6, 7.3%). The median graft survival was 15 years. Acute tubular injury (ATI), infarction, and acute T cell-mediated rejection accounted for 22.2% of graft loss, with > 75% of these failures taking place in the first year. Most graft failures occurred late, at a median post-transplant time of 1125 (interquartile range, 365–2555) days, and consisted of interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IF/TA) (23.8%), transplant glomerulopathy (13.7%), and acquired active antibody-mediated rejection (12.0%). The significant predictors of graft loss were C4d + biopsies (P < 0.01) and advanced IF/TA (P < 0.001). Conclusions Kurdistan transplant patients had graft failure rates similar to living donors reported by the USRDS for the year 2000 but higher than reported for 2010. Compared to USRDS 2010, Kurdistan patients had a moderate excess of HD failures at one and 5 years post-engraftment. Nevertheless, prolonged survival is the norm, with chronic disorders and acquired DSA being the leading causes of graft loss.


Author(s):  
Caihua Li ◽  
Zhimin Lu ◽  
Kaihuan Bi ◽  
Kangxia Wang ◽  
Yuping Xu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Immune dysregulation is one of the mechanisms to promote endometriosis (EMS). Various T cell subpopulations have been reported to play different roles in the development of EMS. The mucosa-associated invariant T cell (MAIT) is an important T cell subset in the pathogenesis of various autoimmune diseases. Evidence has indicated that there are three functionally distinct MAIT subsets: CD4+, CD8+ and CD4/CD8−/− (double negative, DN) MAIT cells. Till now, the associations between endometriosis and MAIT have not been studied. Our research investigates different MAIT subpopulations in peripheral blood (PB) and peritoneal fluid (PF) from EMS patients. Methods Thirty-two EMS patients and eighteen controls were included. PB and PF were collected. Tests of cytokines in plasma and PF were performed by ELISA kit. Characterisations of MAIT were done by flow cytometry. MAIT cells have been defined as CD3 + CD161 + Vα7.2+ cells. Based on CD4 and CD8 expression, they were divided into CD8+MAIT, CD4+MAIT and DN MAIT. Results Enrichments of MAIT cells, especially CD4 and CD8 MAIT subsets were found. Moreover, CD8 MAIT cells had a high activation in the EMS group. EMS patients produced higher level of IL-8/12/17 as compared to these from controls. On the contrary, control patients exhibited an impressive upregulation of DN MAIT cells, however, these DN MAIT cells from controls showed a higher expression of PD-1. Lastly, we performed the relevance analysis, and discovered that the accumulation of PB MAIT cells positively correlated with an elevated level of serum CA125 production in EMS group. Conclusion These results suggest that different MAIT subsets play distinct roles in the progression of endometriosis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salmir Nasic ◽  
Johan Mölne ◽  
Bernd Stegmayr ◽  
Marie Felldin ◽  
Björn Peters

Abstract Background and Aims Kidney transplantation is frequently used as a treatment in uremic patients. However, long term function is not easily predicted. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent histological diagnosis in the first registered transplant kidney biopsy is related to clinical outcome. Method Included were data of 1463 patients (36.6 % women, 63.4 % men) that were merged from a kidney transplantation register and a biopsy register. These patients obtained their first registered transplant biopsy during the period January 1, 2007 until July 30, 2017. Fisher’s exact test and χ-2 analyses were used for cross-tabulation of data. Graft- and patient-survival analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier analysis with log-rank tests comparing different groups and in next step age and gender adjusted analysis were performed by multivariate Cox-regression-analysis. Data are presented as Hazard Ratio (HR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI). A two-sided p-value of &lt;0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results The graft-survival was shorter for patients with biopsy-proven glomerular diseases (HR 8.1, CI 3.1-20.7) and rejections (HR 4.3, CI 1.7 -10.5) compared to normal biopsy findings. Further, there was a shorter graft-survival for those with chronic damages (HR 3.2, CI 1.3-8.0), acute tubular injuries (HR 3.0, CI 1.2-7.8), and borderline changes (HR 2.9, CI 1.1-7.6). The patient-survival was reduced for patients with biopsy-proven hematological diseases (HR 9.6, CI 2.1-44.0). Sub analysis of all types of rejections showed shorter graft-survival for chronic T-cell-mediated rejection (TCMR) (HR 4.8, CI 2.1-11.7), active antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) (HR 4.4, CI 2.1-9.3), chronic ABMR (HR 3.8, CI 2.2-6.7), combined chronic ABMR and TCMR (HR 4.0, CI 2.4-6.9) and other rejections (HR 3.3, CI 1.1-9.6) compared to acute TCMR. Patients with TCMR Banff grade II rejection had a better graft-survival (HR 0.35, CI 0.20-0.63) compared to other rejections as well as patients with TCMR Banff grade I (HR 0.52, CI 0.29-0.93). 265 patients had graft-loss and 42 of those patients died afterwards (15.8%). Of the 42 who died after graft-loss 9 patients died within 30 days after transplant failure (21.4%). Conclusion A shorter graft-survival was found in kidneys with glomerular diseases, rejections, acute tubular injuries, borderline changes and chronic damages. A shorter patient-survival was noted for patients with transplant kidney biopsies with hematological diseases. Patients with Banff grade II rejection had a better graft-survival compared to all other diagnosis and other rejections. Further, awareness should be given to patients the first month after graft-loss.


Nephrology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wannarat Pongpirul ◽  
Wiwat Chancharoenthana ◽  
Krit Pongpirul ◽  
Asada Leelahavanichkul ◽  
Wipawee Kittikowit ◽  
...  

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