title: Early evidence of lymphoproliferative disorder: post-transplant monitoring of Epstein-Barr infection in adult and pediatric patients.
abstract: Transplant patients are at high risk of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD). A strong correlation between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and PTLD is observed in pediatric patients with primary infection after transplant. Because many patients have responded to reversal of immunosuppressive therapy, an early identification of EBV is essential for the reduction of immunosuppression and/or introduction of antiviral therapy to prevent PTLD. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a specific and sensitive method to identify EBV DNA in blood. The aim of our study was to establish a protocol for monitoring EBV infection in transplanted patients for early identification those at high risk of PTLD. Viral presence in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) and serum samples was revealed by Nested PCR; positive specimens were quantified with Real Time PCR (RT-PCR). DNA in PBL was observed in 12 cases and 6 showed EBV in sera. Quantitative analysis showed a wide range of EBV DNA copies in leukocytes that were higher than in sera. Two patients displayed high viral load values in both PBL and sera associated with clinical evidence of PTLD. Our data suggest that the study of the EBV load represents an essential approach in the diagnosis of PTLD and the analysis of serum samples could provide useful information in the post-transplant monitoring of high-risk patients.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Microbiology, Department of Science and Public Health, School of Medicine, La Sapienza University, P.le A. Moro, 5-00185 Rome, Italy. aurelia.gaeta@uniroma1.it
authors.forename: Aurelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gaeta
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nazzari
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verzaro
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Latte
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fabri
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scateni
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Raggi
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lubrano
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mancini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008232:Lymphoproliferative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D016377:Organ Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral