Background: There are limited published data concerning the effects of different immunosuppressive regimens on the development of polyomavirus (BKV) viremia. We examined the risk of developing BKV viremia in kidney transplant recipients receiving everolimus (EVR) or mycophenolic acid (MPA) as maintenance therapy.
Methods: We observationally analyzed 296 patients who underwent renal transplantation at our center between 2005 and 2010: 58 were treated with EVR and low-dose cyclosporine (LD-CyA) (group 1) and 238 with MPA and standard-dose CyA (group 2). All of the patients received induction therapy with basiliximab and maintenance steroids. BKV viremia (a whole-blood viral load of >850 copies/mL) was measured by means of real-time polymerase chain reaction at least once a month during a 12-month follow-up period.
Results: BKV viremia was detected in 57 patients (19%), five (9%) in group 1 and 52 (22%) in group 2. Kaplan-Meier analyses showed that freedom from BKV viremia was significantly more frequent in group 1. The mean time of onset of BKV viremia was about four months after transplantation in both groups. The median viral load was greater in group 2 (12.5 ± 6.1 vs. 2.5 ± 1.8 × 10(4) copies/mL; p = 0.01). After the onset of BKV viremia, graft function significantly declined in group 2: 11 patients developed polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (PVAN) and four presumptive PVAN; nine experienced an acute rejection after the discontinuation of MPA, and 11 (21%) lost their graft. There was no graft loss in group 1.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that in comparison with MPA and Cya, an EVR and LD-CyA regimen lowers the risk of BKV viremia after kidney transplantation and favorably alters outcomes.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ctr.12151 | DOI Listing |
Ann Diagn Pathol
December 2024
Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas, United States - 77030.
BK Polyomavirus nephropathy (PVN) with definitive diagnosis on biopsy, presents incidentally or with varying degrees of graft dysfunction. Banff working group on PVN has proposed a novel scoring system in renal biopsies, to identify patients with higher risk of graft failure. In this study, we attempted to validate the Banff scoring system at index biopsies and correlate with a novel index score, plasma BK-virus load and graft outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEBioMedicine
December 2024
University College London Institute of Immunity and Transplantation, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK. Electronic address:
Background: BK polyomavirus (BKV) DNAaemia occurs in 10% of recipients of kidney transplants, contributing to premature allograft failure. Evidence suggests disease is donor derived. Hypothetically, recipient infection with a different BKV serotype increases risk due to poorer immunological control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransplant Proc
November 2024
Department of Surgery Nephrology Center, Toranomon Hospital, Tokyo Japan.
BK virus-associated nephritis (BKVAN) is an important cause of graft loss in renal transplant recipients B K viremia occurs in up to 30% of renal transplant recipients. Since the discovery of BKV in 1971, effective prophylaxis and treatment have not been established, and it is not uncommon for a transplant kidney to be lost without cure of BKVAN. BK virus infection is reactivated when cellular immunity is suppressed, which is often during the first year after kidney transplantation when cellular immunity is most suppressed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Infect Dis
September 2024
Labbafinezhad hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Aims: This study aims to evaluate the presence of EBV, HCMV, and BKV genomic sequences in the plasma samples (active infection/viremia) of kidney transplant recipients suspected of rejection and to investigate host and risk factors related to the activation of these viruses in these patients.
Methods: In this cross-sectional single-center study, plasma samples were collected from 98 suspected kidney transplant rejection patients at Labafinejad Hospital, Tehran, Iran, between December 2022 and June 2023. Quantitative real-time PCR assays for HCMV, EBV, and BK were performed using GeneProof Real-time PCR kits.
Front Transplant
June 2023
Berlin Center for Advanced Therapies (BeCAT), Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
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