Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a risk factor for chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD), which limits survival in lung allograft recipients. Natural killer (NK) cells that express the NKG2C receptor mediate CMV-specific immune responses. We hypothesized that NKG2C NK cells responding to CMV in the lung allograft would reduce CMV-related inflammation and would improve CLAD-free survival.
Methods: We prospectively followed 130 subjects who underwent lung transplantation from 2012 to 2016. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) NK cells were immunophenotyped for NKG2C, maturation, and proliferation markers. CMV viral load, serologies, serial spirometry, and mortality were recorded from medical records. Natural killer cell subset association with CMV endpoints were made using generalized estimating equation-adjusted linear models. BAL NKG2C NK cell association with CLAD-free survival was assessed by Cox proportional hazards modeling.
Results: NKG2C NK cells were more mature and proliferative than NKG2C NK cells and represented a median of 7.8% of BAL NK cells. The NKG2C NK cell proportion increased prior to the first detection of viremia and was nearly tripled in subjects with high level viremia (>1000 copies/mL) compared with no detected viremia. Subjects with increased BAL NKG2C NK cells, relative to the median, had a significantly increased risk for CLAD or death (hazard ratio, 4.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-13.3).
Conclusions: The BAL NKG2C NK cell proportion may be a relevant biomarker for assessing risk of CMV viremia and quantifying potential CMV-related graft injury that can lead to CLAD or death.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/TP.0000000000002450 | DOI Listing |
Clin Transplant
January 2025
Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
The importance of mental toughness on lung transplant outcomes is unknown. We performed a pilot study to assess whether pretransplant grit and resilience are associated with short-term posttransplant outcomes. We enrolled 31 lung transplant candidates, of whom 7 (26%) had greater mental toughness, defined as the upper tertile for both grit and resilience within our cohort.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransplant Direct
February 2025
Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Background: Baseline lung allograft dysfunction (BLAD) after lung transplant is associated with an increased risk of dying, but the association with health-related quality of life (HRQL) and exercise capacity is not known. We hypothesized that BLAD would be associated with reduced HRQL and 6-min walk distance (6MWD) at 1 y post-lung transplant.
Methods: We analyzed patients who underwent lung transplants in our program from 2004 to 2018 who completed 1-y 36-item Short Form (SF-36) questionnaire and 6MWD testing.
J Clin Med
December 2024
Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland.
Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a major prognosis-limiting factor in patients undergoing orthotopic heart transplantation (HT). Due to the diffuse involvement of the coronary tree, CAV lesions are often not amenable to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), leaving coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and retransplantation as primary revascularization options. : The latest guidelines from the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) recognize CABG as a viable option but with a downgraded strength of recommendation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomaterials
January 2025
Centre for Advanced Imaging (CAI), Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia; ARC Training Centre for Innovation in Biomedical Imaging Technology, University of Queensland, QLD, Australia. Electronic address:
Immune-modulating peptides have shown potential as novel immune-stimulating agents which enhance the secretion of anticancer cytokines in vitro. However, fast clearance from blood hampers the ability of such peptides to accumulate in the tumour and results in limited therapeutic efficacy in animal studies. To address the fast blood clearance, this work reports the development and validation of a novel polymeric nanoparticle delivery system for the efficient localization of an immunomodulating peptide in the tumour microenvironment (TME).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Thorac Surg Short Rep
December 2024
Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is increasingly used as a bridge to lung transplantation. Although other mechanical circulatory support devices have been associated with anti-human leukocyte antigen antibody formation, including de novo donor-specific antibodies (dnDSA), it is unknown whether ECMO is a sensitizing exposure.
Methods: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study of lung transplant recipients.
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