Renal transplantation in sensitized children and young adults: a nationwide approach.

Background: High levels of preformed anti-HLA antibodies dramatically diminish renal transplant outcomes. Most desensitization programmes guarantee good intermediate outcomes but quite disappointing long-term prognosis. The search for a fully compatible kidney increases time on the waiting list. Methods: In February 2011, a nationwide hyperimmune programme (NHP) was begun in Italy: all available kidneys are primarily proposed to highly sensitized patients with a panel reactive antibody above 80%. In this manuscript, we evaluate the outcome of paediatric patients transplanted with this approach. Results: Twenty-one patients were transplanted. Complete data are available for 20 patients. Mean age at transplantation was 14.5 years [standard deviation (SD) ± 5.5)]. Mean time on the waiting list was 29.3 months (SD ± 27.5). Median follow-up was 29.2 months (range: 11.2-59.3). The average number of HLA mismatches in these patients was 2.3 versus 3.7 in 48 standard patients transplanted in the same period (P < 0.001). Only one graft was lost. Two cases of humoral rejection occurred and were successfully treated. No cellular rejection was reported. Median creatinine clearance was 84, 88, 77 and 77 mL/min/1.73 m 2 respectively 1, 6, 12 and 24 months after transplant. Conclusions: Transplantation of sensitized patients avoiding prohibited antigens is feasible, at least in a selected cohort of patients. In order to be able to further improve this approach, which in our opinion is very successful, it would be necessary to expand the donor pool, possibly increasing the number of countries participating in the programme. In this series, time on the waiting list did not increase significantly. This allocation policy should ideally lead to an outcome comparable to that expected in standard patients, which is particularly desirable in young patients who have the longest life expectancy. Since long-term results of desensitization programmes are not (yet) convincing, we suggest that these programmes should be reserved for selected cases where compatible organs cannot be found within a reasonable time span.

Acute kidney transplant rejection mediated by angiotensin II type 1 receptor antibodies in a pediatric hyperimmune patient.

BACKGROUND: Several cases of severe antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) secondary to antibodies against the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R-Ab) have been described with variable outcome. CASE-DIAGNOSIS/TREATMENT: We report the case of a 13-year-old boy whose first kidney transplant failed due to steroid-resistant acute cellular rejection, with the subsequent development of sensitization. He received a second kidney transplant which was complicated by early humoral rejection, with weakly positive staining for the complement degradation product C4d. Test results were negative for donor-specific antibodies against human leukocyte antigens (HLA-DSA) and MHC class I-related chain A (MICA) but positive for AT1R-Ab. Retrospective testing of the sera collected during the first kidney transplant was also positive for AT1R-Ab. We therefore hypothesized that the failure of the first transplant was secondary to the same cause. Losartan was immediately introduced into the therapeutic regimen, and the patient showed an excellent clinical and histological recovery. CONCLUSIONS: Testing for AT1R-Ab in any hypertensive patient with acute rejection who tests negative or weakly positive for C4d and negative for HLA-DSA and who is refractory to therapy is highly advisable. Pre-transplant AT1R-Ab may be indicative of the outcome in patients whose first transplant failed. Prompt initiation of treatment with losartan-immediately after transplantation in patients with pre-existing AT1R-Ab-should be encouraged.

Cellular immune profile of kidney transplant patients developing anti-HLA antibodies during childhood.

BACKGROUND: In the field of kidney transplantation, identifying early signatures of humoral rejection is a key challenge. METHODS: We investigated the presence of anti-HLA antibodies and the distribution of lymphocyte subpopulations in 77 kidney-transplanted children and young adults compared to 23 healthy controls. Moreover, we tested whether the presence of anti-HLA antibodies could be related to modification in lymphocyte phenotype. Finally, we correlated the presence of anti-HLA antibodies and specific alteration of lymphocyte subsets with clinical outcomes. RESULTS: In kidney-transplanted children who developed anti-HLA antibodies, we observed an expansion of double-negative B cells (CD19 + CD27-IgD-), indicating premature aging of this compartment. Moreover, we reported signs of impaired B cell regulation, indicated by a higher IL-21R+ B cell frequency associated with an abnormal increase of follicular helper T cells. Finally, a considerable reduction in CD8+ effector T and invariant Natural killer T (NKT) cells was observed. The stability of graft function over time is significantly correlated with the frequency of peripheral effector CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and invariant NKT cells. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the usefulness of lymphocyte subset as one of a spectrum of early diagnostic tools required to identify patients at risk of developing donor alloimmune response.

Use of DPB1 T-cell epitope algorithm among italian transplant centers: A survey on behalf of Associazione Italiana di Immunogenetica e Biologia dei Trapianti.

The HLA-DPB1 locus has been demonstrated to have a significant role on patients' outcome after allogeneic HSCT, and the so-called T-cell epitope (TCE) algorithm has been incorporated in international guidelines for the selection of unrelated donors. The purpose of the present study is to measure, through a national survey conducted on behalf of the Associazione Italiana di Immunogenetica e Biologia dei Trapianti (AIBT), the extent of awareness and use of HLA-DPB1 TCE-based algorithms during the donor search. 89% of the HLA laboratories answered to a short questionnaire and the results showed a progressive increase of the laboratories typing DPB1 in patients and their potential donors during the search (from 44% to 79% during the 2010-2019 period) as well as the application of a TCE-based algorithm for the donor choice whenever possible (from 24% to 65% during the same period). The DP-permissiveness status is detailed in the official HLA typing report by 12%, 32% and 50% of laboratories in 2010, 2015 and 2019, respectively. The present data indicate an encouraging raise in the awareness of the HLA-DPB1 role in unrelated donor selection; noteworthy, mentioning the TCE-based permissiveness status in the HLA typing report of each potential unrelated donor represents a notable mean to raise awareness among transplant physicians and to support them in their task of choosing the best donor. Nonetheless, despite the compelling evidence of the predictive ability of TCE-based algorithms, further efforts are still needed to extend its application to all transplant centers in Italy.

Public epitope specificity of HLA class I antibodies induced by a failed kidney transplant: alloantibody characterization by flow cytometric techniques.

BACKGROUND: Patients whose kidney grafts fail develop alloantibodies that react with many HLA molecules. We analyzed the epitope specificity of HLA class I alloantibodies in the sera of 55 patients who had been sensitized by kidney grafts, and investigated the immunogenicity of various polymorphic epitopes. METHODS: HLA class I alloantibodies were detected and characterized by flow cytometry (FlowPRA beads). Potential "immunizing epitopes" were identified by comparing the amino acid sequences of HLA class I antigens/alleles of the donor, recipient and the antibody-reactivity pattern. RESULTS: In the 55 anti-HLA class I-positive patients, 82 different antibody reactivity patterns were identified; all but 5 (94%) were determined by a "public epitope" of donor HLA-A and/or -B molecules. Forty-five of 50 patients who showed HLA-A Res-MMs with their donors produced HLA-A antibodies, but only 31 of 51 subjects with HLA-B Res-MMs produced HLA-B antibodies (P=0.001; O.R.=5.81). The antibody patterns were specific for a "single" epitope of the mismatched donor molecules in 91% of patients. Forty-three of the 120 (36%) mismatched HLA-A and/or -B epitopes were positively correlated with antibody production. The polymorphic determinants of higher immunogenic capacity were b80N (Bw6-associated) and ab82-83LR (Bw4-associated) public epitopes. CONCLUSIONS: The humoral immune response against a kidney graft mainly produces HLA class I antibodies specific for "public epitopes" of mismatched donor molecules. A "single" donor-epitope may determine the production of a spread antibody pattern. In renal transplantation, epitope matching is better than HLA antigen matching for avoiding or minimizing development of HLA antibodies.

B-sides serologic markers of immunogenicity in kidney transplanted patients: report from 2012-2013 flu vaccination experience.

BACKGROUND: Safety and immunogenicity data of seasonal influenza vaccination in transplanted patients (Tps) are controversial. Preexisting cross-reactive antibodies generated by repeated vaccination with drift variant strains could bias interpretation of immunogenicity data in Tp. METHODS: The unadjuvanted 2012-2013 seasonal influenza vaccine was administered to 81 kidney Tps being routinely vaccinated against influenza and 23 healthy controls (HCs). Immunogenicity was evaluated by both strain-specific antibody responses with standard hemagglutination inhibition assay and by memory B-cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot. Safety was also evaluated by measuring anti-human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies. RESULTS: The majority of Tps were seroprotected before vaccination (81.5%, 81.5%, and 43.2% vs. 47.8%, 34.8%, and 30.4% in HC for H1N1, H3N2, and B strain, respectively) resulting into lower seroconversion rates (P≤0.01) as compared with HC (40.7%, 39.5%, and 54.3% vs. 73.9%, 82.6%, and 65.2% for H1N1, H3N2, and B strain, respectively). An inverse correlation was found between seroconversion rates and number of previous vaccinations in Tps. On the contrary, similar increase in the frequencies of strain-specific memory B cells were detected by B-cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot in both Tps and HCs after vaccination. No serious adverse events have been reported. Donor-specific HLA antibodies increased in two patients after vaccination, and de novo anti-HLA antibodies were identified in two additional patients (non-donor-specific HLA antibodies). CONCLUSION: This report on safety and immunogenicity of the seasonal unadjuvanted 2012-2013 flu vaccination suggests that evaluating immunogenicity of influenza vaccination exclusively by hemagglutination inhibition assay may be misleading in individuals receiving yearly seasonal vaccines. Further investigations are required to understand the relation between vaccination and anti-HLA antibody development.

Post-transplant development of C1q-positive HLA antibodies and kidney graft survival.

The development of de novo human leukocyte antigen (HLA) donor specific antibodies (DSA), detected by both cytotoxic or solid phase assays, was considered the major risk factor for allograft failure in kidney transplantation. However, it was shown that not all patients with persistent production of DSA suffered loss of their grafts. Modified Luminex-Single Antigen assays, able to identify C1q-fixing antibodies, represent a new strategy in assessing the clinical relevance of detected DSA. This study demonstrated that C1q-fixing capability of de novo DSA is a clinically relevant marker of worse outcome and inferior graft survival in kidney transplantation. In fact, our findings evidenced a very low graft survival only in the patients who developed DSA able to fix C1q during post-transplant course, while patients producing C1q-negative DSA had good graft survival, which was comparable to that found in our previous study for DSA-negative patients. Moreover, anti-HLA class II antibodies had a higher incidence than anti-HLA class I, and the ability to fix C1q was significantly more frequent among anti-DQ DSA than anti-DR DSA. Monitoring of de novo C1q-DSA production represents a useful, non-invasive tool for risk stratification and prediction of graft outcome in kidney transplantation.

Post-transplant donor-specific antibody production and graft outcome in kidney transplantation: results of sixteen-year monitoring by flow cytometry.

Our data show that monitoring by sensitive flow cytometric techniques of the de novo production of anti-HLA antibodies in patients receiving kidney transplantation is a useful and noninvasive tool to identify the onset of an immune response towards the graft before any clinical manifestation of antibody-mediated graft injury. Consequently prospective posttransplant monitoring of anti-HLA donor-directed antibodies may offer the chance to realize an effective clinical intervention in order to prevent graft dysfunction and to prolong graft survival. The long follow-up period of the study allowed us to demonstrate a very low graft survival rate in patients who developed donor-specific HLA antibodies in comparison with patients who did not have antibodies, thus confirming the "humoral theory of transplantation". The posttransplant production of anti-HLA antibodies can predict not only graft failure but also chronic dysfunction of the graft. Moreover, our findings suggest that graft survival is influenced by the epitope- and locus-specificity of anti-HLA donor-directed antibodies. The interval between antibody appearance and loss of graft function was short in some patients but reached several years in others. Moreover, some patients showed consistent production of antibodies for many years and an uneventful clinical status. These findings suggest a mechanism of graft "accommodation" or the production of "harmless" antibodies. Immunosuppressive drug combinations able to inhibit T and B cell activation are useful tools to prevent the humoral immune response against graft and consequently to prolong graft survival.

Chimerism in a child with severe combined immunodeficiency: a case report.

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) represents a group of rare, sometimes fatal, congenital disorders in which there is a combined absence of T-lymphocyte and B-lymphocyte function. Children with SCID die within two years of age, if untreated. The effective treatment for SCID is a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). It has been repeatedly described that in peripheral blood of infants with SCID maternal T cells can be found. Here we report a case of blood chimerism in a one-year-old boy with SCID.