Circulating microbial cell-free DNA is increased during neutropenia after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

We used a next-generation sequencing platform to characterize microbial cell-free DNA (mcfDNA) in plasma samples from patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT). In this observational study, we sought to characterize plasma mcfDNA in order to explore its potential association with the immunologic complications of transplantation. We compared serially collected patient samples with plasma collected from healthy control subjects.