title: High CXCL-16 levels correlate with symptomatic disease in lung transplant recipients with human cytomegalovirus replication in the allograft.
abstract: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is an important pathogen in lung transplant recipients (LTRs). In LTRs, HCMV may replicate in the transplanted lung, and this is indicated by HCMV DNA detection in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Local replication may occur without causing clinical symptoms or, in some patients, it may lead to symptomatic HCMV disease. In the present study, we analyzed whether HCMV replication in the allograft induces CXCL-16, a chemokine that may play a key role in the regulation of mucosal immunity, and investigated whether CXCL-16 levels in BALF can be used to differentiate LTRs with asymptomatic HCMV replication from patients who simultaneously develop disease. In total, BALF samples from 57 LTRs, of whom 8 developed HCMV disease, were assessed for CXCL-16 levels using a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We found that HCMV replication in the lung triggered a significant rise in CXCL-16 levels in the BALF (p < 0.001, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Furthermore, the CXCL-16 increase, induced by HCMV, was significantly lower in LTRs who did not develop HCMV disease (p < 0.001, Mann-Whitney U-test). Thus, CXCL-16 is a potential marker that may contribute to identify those LTRs in whom local HCMV replication in the lung remains asymptomatic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Weseslindtner
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Görzer
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Küng
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Roedl
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jaksch
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Klepetko
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Puchhammer-Stöckl
mesh_terms: D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; D000075743:Chemokine CXCL16; D019743:Chemokines, CXC / Q000378:metabolism*; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000502:physiology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D016040:Lung Transplantation; D051116:Receptors, Scavenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: C423727:CXCL16 protein, human; D000075743:Chemokine CXCL16; D019743:Chemokines, CXC; D051116:Receptors, Scavenger
keywords: biomarker; bronchoalveolar lavage; chemokine receptors; chemokines; clinical research; cytomegalovirus; infection and infectious agents; infectious disease; lung disease; lung transplantation; practice; pulmonology; science; translational research; viral