title: Epstein-Barr viral load, interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 levels in post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease: a nested case-control study in a renal transplant cohort.
abstract: The possible correlation among Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) load, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels has become an attractive issue and can provide a useful tool for diagnosis and monitoring of patients at risk for post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) development. At the time of diagnosis of PTLD, 11 patients were prospectively enrolled and 55 nested controls were selected from a 1800 renal transplant cohort. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to quantify EBV load in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Serum IL-6 and IL-10 levels were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The median EBV load of PTLD cases was 17400 copies/10(6) PBMC, statistically different from controls (P=0.001). The median IL-6 level of PTLD cases was not different from controls (P=0.079). However, median IL-10 levels showed a significant difference in both groups (P < or = 0.001). The receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to estimate the IL-10 cut-off value predictive of PTLD development. We found that 73.5 pg/ml has high sensitivity (1.00) and specificity (0.85). Also, Pearson's analysis showed a strong correlation between EBV load and serum IL-10 concentration (P < or = 0.001). This nested case-control study demonstrates that EBV load at diagnosis of PTLD correlates with IL-10 levels, and that monitoring of IL-10 can provide a less expensive and less time-consuming tool for PTLD diagnosis and close follow-up of patients at risk. Furthermore, we were able to define a cut-off value of IL-10 mostly predictive of PTLD development in this cohort. Our data suggest that serial measurements prior to PTLD development must be carried out to validate our hypothesis.
authors: Hematology and Transfusion Medicine Service, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, UNIFESP/EPM, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Otávio C G
authors: OC
authors: Baiocchi
authors: Gisele W B
authors: GW
authors: Colleoni
authors: Otávia L
authors: OL
authors: Caballero
authors: André L
authors: AL
authors: Vettore
authors: Adriana
authors: A
authors: Bulgarelli
authors: Maria Aparecida
authors: MA
authors: Dalbone
authors: Celso F H
authors: CF
authors: Granato
authors: Marcello F
authors: MF
authors: Franco
authors: José O M
authors: JO
authors: Pestana
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008232:Lymphoproliferative Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D016753:Interleukin-10