scholarly journals The Immunology of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Vaccines in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1879
Author(s):  
Dominika Dęborska-Materkowska ◽  
Dorota Kamińska

Since its outbreak in December 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), led to an enormous rise in scientific response with an excess of COVID-19-related studies on the pathogenesis and potential therapeutic approaches. Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients are a heterogeneous population with long-lasting immunosuppression as a joining element. Immunocompromised patients are a vulnerable population with a high risk of severe infections and an increased infection-related mortality rate. It was postulated that the hyperinflammatory state due to cytokine release syndrome during severe COVID-19 could be alleviated by immunosuppressive therapy in SOT patients. On the other hand, it was previously established that T cell-mediated immunity, which is significantly weakened in SOT recipients, is the main component of antiviral immune responses. In this paper, we present the current state of science on COVID-19 immunology in relation to solid organ transplantation with prospective therapeutic and vaccination strategies in this population.

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (28) ◽  
pp. 3497-3506
Author(s):  
Raymund R. Razonable

Cytomegalovirus is the classic opportunistic infection after solid organ transplantation. This review will discuss updates and future directions in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of CMV infection in solid organ transplant recipients. Antiviral prophylaxis and pre-emptive therapy are the mainstays of CMV prevention, but they should not be mutually exclusive and each strategy should be considered depending on a specific situation. The lack of a widely applicable viral load threshold for diagnosis and preemptive therapy is emphasized as a major factor that should pave the way for an individualized approach to prevention. Valganciclovir and intravenous ganciclovir remain as drugs of choice for CMV management, and strategies for managing drug-resistant CMV infection are enumerated. There is increasing use of CMV-specific cell-mediated immune assays to stratify the risk of CMV infection after solid organ transplantation, and their potential role in optimizing CMV prevention and treatment efforts is discussed.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2019
Author(s):  
Anum Abbas ◽  
Andrea J. Zimmer ◽  
Diana Florescu

Solid organ transplant recipients are at increased risk for infections due to chronic immunosuppression. Diarrhea is a commonly encountered problem post transplantation, with infectious causes of diarrhea being a frequent complication. Viral infections/enteritides in solid organ transplant recipients often result from frequently encountered pathogens in this population such as cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, and norovirus. However, several emerging viral pathogens are increasingly being recognized as more sensitive diagnostic techniques become available. Treatment is often limited to supportive care and reduction in immunosuppression, though antiviral therapies mayplay a role in the treatment in certain diseases. Viral enteritis is an important entity that contributes to morbidity and mortality in transplant recipients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela Carugati ◽  
Letizia Morlacchi ◽  
Anna Peri ◽  
Laura Alagna ◽  
Valeria Rossetti ◽  
...  

Respiratory infections pose a significant threat to the success of solid organ transplantation, and the diagnosis and management of these infections are challenging. The current narrative review addressed some of these challenges, based on evidence from the literature published in the last 20 years. Specifically, we focused our attention on (i) the obstacles to an etiologic diagnosis of respiratory infections among solid organ transplant recipients, (ii) the management of bacterial respiratory infections in an era characterized by increased antimicrobial resistance, and (iii) the development of antimicrobial stewardship programs dedicated to solid organ transplant recipients.


Author(s):  
Manal El Said

The advancement in the field of transplant has led to the increasing number of solid-organ transplant recipients (SOTRs). This success leads to novel confronts in communicable infections, which are compound by the emergence of newly contagious and antimicrobial drugs resistant microorganisms. The prevention of infections is a cornerstone of any modern solid organ transplantation program. Understanding the fundamentals of these infections with early detection is crucial for improving the outcomes of such patients and lowers the probable extra complications.  The probability of critical infections in SOTRs is established by relations between the patient’s epidemiological exposures and the net condition of immune repression. A timeline was formed to build up a discrepancy diagnosis of infection in SORTs. The improvement in screening, the investigations including imaging and molecular techniques and prophylactic intervention protocols, has made it promising to limit the penalty of infections and act towards better patient endurance. Pre-transplant screening of the prospective organ donor and recipient provides a chance to evaluate the viability and wellbeing of transplantation, to decide the prophylaxis and protective approaches developed post-transplant, to find out and entirely treat active infection in the possible recipient proceeding to transplant, to renovate the vaccination condition of the potential recipient.


2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Wintenberger ◽  
Daniele Maubon ◽  
Elena Charpentier ◽  
John Rendu ◽  
Patricia Pavese ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVETo determine the origin of grouped cases of Pneumocystis pneumonia in solid-organ transplant recipients at our institution.DESIGNA case series with clinical examinations, genotyping, and an epidemiological survey.SETTINGA university hospital in France.PATIENTSWe report 12 solid-organ transplant recipients with successive cases of Pneumocystis pneumonia that occurred over 3 years; 10 of these cases occurred in a single year.METHODSWe used molecular typing of P. jirovecii strains by multilocus sequence typing and clinical epidemiological survey to determine potential dates and places of transmission.RESULTSBetween May 2014 and March 2015, 10 solid-organ transplant recipients (5 kidney transplants, 4 heart transplants, and 1 lung transplant) presented with Pneumocystis pneumonia. Molecular genotyping revealed the same P. jirovecii strain in at least 6 patients. This Pneumocystis strain was not identified in control patients (ie, nontransplant patients presenting with pulmonary pneumocystosis) during this period. The epidemiological survey guided by sequencing results provided information on the probable or possible dates and places of contamination for 5 of these patients. The mobile infectious diseases unit played a coordination role in the clinical management (adaptation of the local guidelines) and epidemiological survey.CONCLUSIONOur cardiac and kidney transplant units experienced grouped cases of pulmonary pneumocystosis. Genotyping and epidemiological surveying results suggested interhuman contamination, which was quickly eliminated thanks to multidisciplinary coordination.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:179–185


2020 ◽  
pp. 1359-1361
Author(s):  
William G. Powderly ◽  
J. William Campbell ◽  
Larry J. Shapiro

Cryptococcus neoformans, which is found worldwide as a soil organism and thought to be transmitted by inhalation, most often causes disease in patients with abnormal cell-mediated immunity, notably patients with HIV infection and solid-organ transplant recipients, but the infection also occurs rarely in apparently immunocompetent people in restricted geographical areas, especially involving C. neoformans var. gattii. The most common presentation is with subacute meningoencephalitis, but other manifestations (e.g. isolated pulmonary disease or disseminated infection, are well described). Diagnosis is usually by culture or serology. Untreated cryptococcal meningitis is fatal: aside from supportive care (including monitoring for raised intracranial pressure), the therapy of choice is an initial period (at least two weeks) of amphotericin B (ideally with flucytosine), followed by at least 3 months of fluconazole. Most immunocompromised patients subsequently require maintenance suppressive therapy, usually with fluconazole.


Author(s):  
William G. Powderly

Cryptococcus neoformans, which is found worldwide as a soil organism and thought to be transmitted by inhalation, most often causes disease in patients with abnormal cell-mediated immunity, notably patients with HIV infection and solid-organ transplant recipients, but the infection also occurs rarely in apparently immunocompetent people in restricted geographical areas, especially involving ...


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