Viral load, CMV-specific T-cell immune response and cytomegalovirus disease in solid organ transplant recipients at higher risk for cytomegalovirus infection during preemptive therapy.

Despite advances in prevention, cytomegalovirus (CMV) recurrence is an important challenge in high-risk organ recipients. The present study prospectively evaluates the impact of CMV-specific T-cell immune response and secondary prophylaxis on the risk of recurrence in a cohort of CMV high-risk organ recipients and whether it is possible to determine a safe standardized viral load value below which CMV disease is unlikely. Thirty-nine recipients were included. Thirty-six had primary infections, and 88.9% recurred. Rate and duration of recurrent CMV infection was similar in patients with and without secondary prophylaxis: 57.9% vs. 53.6%, P = 0.770 and 16 vs. 15 days, P = 0.786, respectively. The only factor independently associated with no episodes of CMV recurrence was the acquisition of CMV-specific T-cell immune response (OR: 0.151, 95% CI: 0.028-0.815; P = 0.028). Cytomegalovirus diseases (N = 5) occurred in patients with CMV viral load above 1500 IU/ml who did not follow the planned monitorization schedule. Our observations suggest that episodes of recurrent CMV infection are common after preemptive therapy despite secondary prophylaxis and that CMV-specific T-cell immune response is associated with a decreased risk of recurrent infections. Preemptive therapy may be safe in patients at high risk for CMV infection with strict close monitoring of the CMV viral load.

[Cinacalcet in the management of normocalcaemic secondary hyperparathyroidism after kidney transplantation: one-year follow-up multicentre study]. / Cinacalcet en el manejo del hiperparatiroidismo secundario normocalcémico tras el trasplante renal: estudio multicéntrico de un año de seguimiento.

BACKGROUND: The effect of cinacalcet in patients with persistent secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) after kidney transplantation (RT) has mainly been reported in patients with secondary hypercalcaemia. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to assess the long-term effect of cinacalcet on patients with a RT and normocalcaemic SHPT. METHODS: A one-year multicentre, observational, retrospective study that included kidney recipients with SHPT (intact parathyroid hormone [iPTH] >120 pg/ml) and calcium levels within the normal range (8.4-10.2 mg/dl). Patients began treatment with cinacalcet in clinical practice. RESULTS: 32 patients with a mean age (standard deviation [SD]) of 54 (11) years, 56% male, were included in the study. Treatment with cinacalcet began a median of 16 months after RT (median dose of 30 mg/day). Levels of iPTH decreased from a median (P25, P75) of 364 (220, 531) pg/ml at the start of the study to 187 (98, 320) after 6 months (48.6% reduction, P=.001) and to 145 (91, 195) after 12 months (60.2% reduction, P=.001), without there being changes in calcium and phosphorus levels (P=.214 and P=.216, respectively). No changes were observed in kidney function or anti-calcineuric drug levels. 3.1% of patients discontinued cinacalcet due to intolerance and 6.2% due to a lack of efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with normocalcaemic SHPT after RT, cinacalcet improves the control of serum PTH values without causing changes to calcaemia, phosphataemia or kidney function. Cinacalcet showed good tolerability.

Pharmacokinetic modeling of enterohepatic circulation of mycophenolic acid in renal transplant recipients.

Several factors contribute to mycophenolic acid (MPA) between-patient variability. Here we characterize the metabolic pathways of MPA and quantify the effect of combining genetic polymorphism of multidrug-resistant-associated protein-2, demographics, biochemical covariates, co-medication (cyclosporine (CsA) vs. macrolides), and renal function on MPA, 7-O-MPA-glucuronide (MPAG), and acyl-glucuronide (AcMPAG) disposition, in renal transplant recipients, after mycophenolate mofetil. Complete pharmacokinetic profiles from 56 patients (five occasions) were analyzed. Enterohepatic circulation was modeled by transport of MPAG to the absorption site. This transport significantly decreased with increasing CsA trough concentrations (CtroughCsA). MPAG and AcMPAG plasma clearances significantly decreased with renal function. No significant influence of multidrug-resistant-associated protein-2 C24T single-nucleotide polymorphism was found. The model adequately predicted the increase in MPAG/AcMPAG exposures in CsA and macrolide patients with decreased renal function. This resulted in higher MPA exposures in macrolide patients versus CsA patients, and increased MPA exposures with renal function from 25 to 10 ml/min, in macrolide patients, owing to enhanced MPAG enterohepatic circulation. Lower-percentage enterohepatic circulation occurred with higher CtroughCsA and renal function values. The lack of MPA protein-binding modeling did not permit evaluation of the impact of renal function and CtroughCsA on MPA exposures in CsA patients. Thus, dose tailoring of covariates is recommended for target MPA exposure.

Clinical profile and post-transplant anaemia in renal transplant recipients restarting dialysis after a failed graft: changing trends between 2001 and 2009.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical profile, outcome and the prevalence and management of anaemia between two cohorts of renal transplant patients with graft failure restarting dialysis in 2001 and 2009. METHODS: Cross-sectional, observational, retrospective and multicentre study of 397 patients in the 2001 cohort and 222 in the 2009 cohort. Data were recorded at 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months before the onset of dialysis resumption and during the first 90 days after restarting dialysis (mortality and hospital admission). RESULTS: Patients in the 2009 cohort were older at the time of inclusion in the study and transplantation, and restarted dialysis therapy with a significantly better glomerular filtration rate. In both cohorts, there was a rapid deterioration of renal function with statistically significant differences in serum creatinine and glomerular filtration rate between the monthly intervals -12 and 0. The mean haemoglobin value at -12 months was 11.6 g/dL [7.2 mmol/L] in the 2001 cohort when compared with 12.3 g/dL [7.6 mmol/L] in the 2009 cohort, and at the time of restarting dialysis 9.6 g/dL [6.0 mmol/L] versus 10.6 g/dL [6.6 mmol/L]. The percentage of patients treated with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, at any time during the 12 months before readmission to dialysis, increased significantly from 61.5% in the 2001 cohort to 96% in the 2009 cohort. There were no significant differences between the 2001 and 2009 cohorts in mortality rate (8.8 versus 9.0%) or hospital admission (31.5 versus 31.1%) during the study time. CONCLUSIONS: At restarting dialysis, the proportion of patients with anaemia (and its severity) due to progressive graft nephropathy decreased over the past 8 years, increasing significantly the percentage of patients treated with erythropoietin. Differences in morbimortality after dialysis resumption were not observed, this is probably due to an increase in the age of donors and recipients.

Deficient long-term response to pandemic vaccine results in an insufficient antibody response to seasonal influenza vaccination in solid organ transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the long-term antibody response to the 2009-H1N1 vaccine in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTR) and its clinical repercussion on the efficacy of following 2010-2011 influenza vaccine. METHODS: We performed a multicenter prospective study in SOTR receiving one dose of the nonadjuvant 2010-2011 seasonal influenza vaccine and determined the immunological response at 5 weeks after vaccination. RESULTS: One hundred SOTR were included. Long-term antibody titers to the previous vaccine were only detected in one third of the patients. Patients with baseline titers had significantly higher seroprotection for the 2009-H1N1 strain (100% vs. 73%, relative risks [RR] 1.37, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.19-1.57; P=0.006), for H3N2 strain (100% vs. 62.2%, RR 1.61, 95% CI 1.36-1.90; P=0.005), and for B strain (100% vs. 69%; P=0.02). The seroconversion rate in patients with baseline titers was 90.9% vs. 73% (RR 2.97, 95% CI 0.75-11.74; P=0.07) for the 2009-H1N1 strain, 92.2% vs. 62.2% (RR 5.29, 95% CI 0.8-35.7; P=0.02) for the H3N2 strain, and 58.3% vs. 69% (P=0.45) for the B strain. CONCLUSIONS: SOTR response to the 2010-2011 influenza vaccine was not optimal. The response was related to baseline titers; however, most of the patients did not exhibit detectable antibodies at vaccination lacking long-term response. New strategies are necessary to improve vaccination efficacy.

Therapeutic effect of the acquisition of cytomegalovirus-specific immune response during preemptive treatment.

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that preemptive therapy against cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection after transplantation promotes a CMV-specific immune response. Our objective was to determine whether solid-organ transplant patients at high risk for CMV infection treated preemptively acquire a CMV-specific immune response and whether the acquired immune response confers immunity by controlling subsequent CMV replication episodes and by protecting from late-onset CMV disease. METHODS: Patients were followed up for 18 months after transplantation. CMV viral load was determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction assays, and the T-cell immune response was characterized by intracellular cytokine staining. RESULTS: The 21 patients studied developed CMV replication episodes at a median of 4 weeks (range 2-8 weeks) after transplantation and a CMV-specific T-cell response within a median of 12 weeks (range 10-20 weeks). The decline in the incidence of CMV replication episodes is inversely correlated with the acquisition of the CMV-specific T-cell response (linear regression r=0.781, Pearson correlation=-0.883; P=0.001). There were no CMV replication episodes after week 47 of transplantation. In addition, after acquisition of the immune response, 42 replication episodes were cleared without treatment. The time taken for immune clearance of replication correlated with the peak viral load (P=0.01). No incidence of CMV early or late-onset disease was detected. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that preemptive therapy is a safe and an effective strategy for the control of CMV infection in solid-organ transplant recipients at high risk for CMV infection. This is the first study that reports a therapeutic effect of the acquisition of CMV-specific immune response during preemptive treatment.

Improvement in late renal allograft survival between 1990 and 2002 in Spain: results from a multicentre case-control study.

Epidemiological studies have failed to show an improvement in graft survival beyond 1 year after kidney transplantation possibly because of an increased number of expanded donors and older recipients. Thus, we performed a case-control study matching patients transplanted in different eras by donor and recipient characteristics. We considered renal transplant recipients included in the database of the Spanish Chronic Allograft Dysfunction Study Group in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002 (n = 4842). We matched patients from these cohorts considering the following variables: donor and recipient age, cause of donor death, hepatitis C virus, panel reactive antibodies and re-transplantation. We identified a total of 896 patients distributed in four cohorts of 224 matched patients. Between 1990 and 2002, the use of cyclosporin decreased (96%, 94%, 80% and 23% respectively, P = 0.001), while the use of tacrolimus increased (0%, 1%, 15% and 63% respectively, P = 0.001) and the prevalence of acute rejection decreased (46%, 37.9%, 20.6% and 15.8% respectively, P < 0.001). One-year serum creatinine was 1.63 +/- 0.66, 1.64 +/- 0.70, 1.44 +/- 0.52 and 1.38 +/- 0.75 respectively, P = 0.001. Graft survival beyond the first year between 1990 and 2002 significantly improved while patient survival did not. Transplant outcome has improved between 1990 and 2002 when donors and recipients of similar characteristics are compared.

Donor-specific antibodies against HLA, MICA, and GSTT1 in patients with allograft rejection and C4d deposition in renal biopsies.

BACKGROUND: Production of antibodies against donor-specific antigens is one of the central mechanisms of allograft rejection. This antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is evidenced by the presence of circulating donor-specific antibodies and deposition of complement component C4d on renal endothelium. Although anti-human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies account for a high proportion of AMR, in many cases anti-HLA antibodies cannot be demonstrated. In liver transplant, antibodies against glutathione-S-transferase T1 (GSTT1) expressed on the graft may induce an antibody response leading to a severe graft dysfunction. In addition, presence of antibodies against major-histocompatibility-complex class I chain-related gene A (MICA) has been associated with a poor graft survival in kidney transplantation. METHODS: Pre- and posttransplantation sera from 19 patients fulfilling the criteria for AMR including C4d deposition in renal biopsies were included. Donor-specific antibodies against HLA-I and -II and MICA were studied using Luminex. Anti-GSTT1 antibodies were analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence and by an ELISA method. A control group of 39 patients with graft dysfunction negative for C4d was also included. RESULTS: At the time of the biopsy, 4 (21%) patients had only anti-HLA class I antibodies; 3 (15.8%) had anti-GSTT1, 2 (10.5%) had anti-HLA-class II, and 2 (10.5%) had anti-MICA; four patients had combination of antibodies: HLA-I + MICA (n=1), HLA-I + GSTT1 (n=2), and GSTT1+MICA (n=1). No antibodies were found in 4 (21%) patients. In total, 6 (31.6%) C4d+ patients had anti-GSTT1 antibodies, whereas, among the 39 C4d-negative patients, only 3 (7.7%) had anti-GSTT1 antibodies (P=0.027). CONCLUSION: Besides anti-HLA antibodies, donor-specific antibodies against MICA and GSTT1 antigens could be responsible for the occurrence of antibody-mediated kidney graft rejection.

Mycophenolate mofetil reduces deterioration of renal function in patients with chronic allograft nephropathy. A follow-up study by the Spanish Cooperative Study Group of Chronic Allograft Nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: Although studies have shown that mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) with cyclosporine (CsA) and prednisone can reduce the incidence of acute rejection and increase the half-life of the graft, the effects of MMF on established chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) are controversial. METHODS: We studied 121 patients with biopsy-proven CAN, 59 treated with CsA and prednisone and 62 treated with triple-drug therapy with azathioprine. At inclusion, each group received 2 g per day of MMF and azathioprine was stopped. Renal function was measured by the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) obtained by creatinine clearance (Cockcroft-Gault) and monitored by the slope of the GFR, adjusted using linear regression. RESULTS: The median follow-up, after incorporation of MMF, was 36 (13-36) months, with 103 (85.1%) having a full 3-year follow-up. Before the introduction of MMF, there was progressive deterioration in renal function (GFR: 54.8+/-20.9 vs. 39.7+/-14.0 mL/min, P<0.001). After introduction of MMF, renal function remained stable (GFR: 39.7+/-14.0 vs. 41.3+/-10.8 mL/min, P=NS), with a significant change in the slope of the GFR (-0.0144 vs. +0.00045, P<0.001). In 65 patients in whom CsA blood levels remained unchanged during follow-up (148.0+/-65.6 vs. 154.1+/-58.2, P=NS), the slope of the GFR showed a reduction in loss of renal function (-0.0147 vs. -0.0001, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with MMF reduced the progressive deterioration of renal function in patients with CAN, independently of the blood levels of CsA.

Incidence of diabetes mellitus requiring insulin treatment after renal transplantation in patients with hepatitis C.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been associated with an increased incidence of diabetes mellitus, both in the general population and among transplant patients. METHODS: To test this hypothesis, we reviewed the records of 1614 patients who had undergone renal transplant at six Spanish centres between 1992 and 1998. We established the rate of onset of diabetes mellitus requiring >1 month of treatment with insulin (insulin-treated diabetes mellitus, I-TDM) among the 177 patients showing HCV antibody seropositivity at the time of transplant (HCV+ group). As controls, 177 HCV patients were selected who had received a kidney allograft immediately before or after the study patients at the same centre. RESULTS: The HCV+ patients were well matched with controls in terms of characteristics (except a longer time on dialysis) and immunosuppressive treatment. After a mean follow-up of 44 months, 28 cases of I-TDM were diagnosed (9.6% in HCV+ and 6.2% HCV-, not significant (NS); odds ratio 1.6; 95% confidence interval 0.75-3.50). The onset of I-TDM was somewhat later in HCV+ patients (467 days vs. 292 days in HCV- patients, NS). Multivariate analysis identified the following prognostic factors for I-TDM onset: age and BMI at the time of transplant, and polycystic kidney disease as the underlying cause of chronic renal insufficiency. No correlation was found with HCV positivity or time on dialysis. CONCLUSIONS: We were unable to confirm a greater incidence of post-renal transplant insulin-requiring diabetes in association with HCV infection. However, the observed tendency towards such an association suggests that the follow-up period would need to be extended.

Medical management of pneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi in a renal transplant recipient.

Rhodococcus equi is an animal pathogen that occasionally causes opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients. The most common clinical picture is one of necrotizing pneumonia with a tendency toward cavitation and the formation of abscesses. We report a case of pneumonia caused by R equi in a renal transplant patient. An excellent response was shown to antibiotic treatment. Symptoms regressed, and the progressive disappearance of the lesion was confirmed on follow-up computed tomography scans. Surgical intervention or other invasive procedures were not required. To our knowledge, 14 cases of infection by R equi in solid-organ transplant patients have been described to date. Nine were recipients of a renal allograft. Surgery was required in many of these patients, and all the renal transplant recipients required the use of invasive therapeutic techniques, such as pleural drainage. This is the first case of a renal transplant recipient in whom radiologic presentation was as a solid nodule without ensuing cavitation that resolved exclusively with antibiotic treatment.