title: Pre-transplant assessment of CMV-specific immune response by Elispot assay in kidney transplant recipients.
abstract: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) primary infection or re-activation in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, with patients with IgG-CMV D+/R- sero-matching at greater risk. The impact of pre-transplant CMV-specific host cellular immunity on the long-term risk of CMV replication in kidney transplants (KT) was prospectively evaluated in eighty patients by CMV-EliSpot assay. The study population included 54 male and 26 female recipients, with CMV-IgG distribution: 60 D+/R+, 11 D-/R+, 7 D+/R-, 2 D-/R-. At pre-transplantation, 49 KT (61.3%) were CMV-responders by EliSpot. At 3-month follow up, 16 (32.7%) out of 49 CMV-responders showed CMV blood infection, compared to 8 (25.8%) out of 31 non-responders. No further episode of CMV viraemia was reported in the responder group, in comparison to 15 out 31 non-responders (48.4%) showing at least one episode of CMV-DNAemia at 12-month follow-up. Baseline CMV-IgG serology showed a strong correlation with EliSpot determinations; KT recipients exhibiting at least one episode of CMV viraemia at 12-month follow-up showed lower baseline CMV-EliSpot values than those without signs of CMV replication. The study suggests that monitoring CMV-specific T-cell responses at pre-transplantation by EliSpot assay may be useful for predicting the post-transplantation risk of CMV infection and reactivation.
authors.affiliation: S.C. Microbiologia e Virologia U, University Hospital "Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino", Italy;|Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Turin, Italy;|M.R. and C.C.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rittà
authors.affiliation: S.C. Microbiologia e Virologia U, University Hospital "Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino", Italy;|Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Turin, Italy;|M.R. and C.C.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: S.C. Microbiologia e Virologia U, University Hospital "Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino", Italy;|Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Turin, Italy;
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sidoti
authors.affiliation: S.C. Microbiologia e Virologia U, University Hospital "Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino", Italy;|Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Turin, Italy;
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ballocco
authors.affiliation: Renal Transplantation Unit, Division of Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation, Dept. of Medical Sciences, University Hospital "Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino", Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ranghino
authors.affiliation: Renal Transplantation Unit, Division of Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation, Dept. of Medical Sciences, University Hospital "Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino", Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Messina
authors.affiliation: Renal Transplantation Unit, Division of Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation, Dept. of Medical Sciences, University Hospital "Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino", Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Biancone
authors.affiliation: S.C. Microbiologia e Virologia U, University Hospital "Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino", Italy;|Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Turin, Italy;
authors.forename: Rossana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cavallo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D058501:Enzyme-Linked Immunospot Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D066027:Transplant Recipients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019737:Transplants / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral
keywords: Cellular immune response; Cytomegalovirus; Immunosuppression; Kidney transplantation; Opportunistic infections; Solid organ transplant