title: Predictive role of pretransplant serum CXCL10 for cardiac acute rejection.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The detection of acute rejection in heart transplantation remains an important feature of transplant management, especially in the early phase. Frequent surveillance with endomyocardial biopsy is necessary, even though it is an invasive procedure and carries a certain risk. Hence, noninvasive biomarkers able to predict acute rejection could be a further helpful tool in patient management. The interferon-gamma-inducible chemokine CXCL10 is required for initiation and development of graft failure caused by acute or chronic rejection. It has been reported that CXCL10 serum level is predictive of graft loss in kidney graft recipients. In the present study, we investigated whether pretransplant CXCL10 serum level may be a predictive noninvasive biomarker in heart transplant (HTx) recipients, as well.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sera from 143 patients undergoing orthotopic heart transplantation were collected before surgery and tested for CXCL10 and CCL22 and compared with serum samples from healthy subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that basal CXCL10 serum levels in HTx recipients were significantly higher than in healthy subjects, whereas no difference was seen in CCL22 levels. Among HTx recipients, CXCL10 serum levels of rejectors were significantly higher than in nonrejectors. Our results showed that CXCL10 was a significant independent risk factor of several variables and had the highest predictive value for early acute heart rejection, with 160 pg/mL cutoff value.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In HTx recipients, measurement of pretransplant CXCL10 serum levels could be a clinically useful tool for predicting cardiac acute rejection, especially in the early posttransplant period.
authors.affiliation: Excellence Center for Research, Transfer and High Education (DENOthe), Department of Clinical Pathophysiology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. c.crescioli@dfc.unifi.it
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Crescioli
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buonamano
authors.forename: Sabino
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scolletta
authors.forename: Mariangela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sottili
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Francalanci
authors.forename: Pierpaolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giomarelli
authors.forename: Bonizella
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Biagioli
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lisi
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pradella
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Serio
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Romagnani
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maccherini
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000276:immunology / Q000601:surgery*; D054422:Chemokine CCL22 / Q000097:blood; D054357:Chemokine CXCL10 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011300:Preoperative Care; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C515482:CCL22 protein, human; C114753:CXCL10 protein, human; D054422:Chemokine CCL22; D054357:Chemokine CXCL10