Blood and alveolar lymphocyte subsets in pulmonary cytomegalovirus infection after lung transplantation (original) (raw)

Correlation between Viral Loads of Cytomegalovirus in Blood and Bronchoalveolar Lavage Specimens from Lung Transplant Recipients Determined by Histology and Immunohistochemistry

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2004

end-organ disease should help with treatment management. We determined the CMV viral load by hybrid capture in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid samples from patients who had undergone lung transplantation. For 39 of these samples (from 25 patients), corresponding transbronchial biopsy samples were available for CMV immunohistochemistry (IHC). The CMV IHC results were interpreted and categorized as positive or negative, and the positive results were subcategorized as typical if cells with both significant nuclear enlargement or Cowdry A-type inclusions and positive staining were present or as atypical if definitive nuclear staining was seen but significant nuclear enlargement was not. Diagnostic CMV viral inclusions were reported in the anatomic diagnosis, based on hematoxylin-eosin staining alone, for three (8%) of the biopsy samples. CMV was detected by IHC in 13 (33%) samples (5 typical, 8 atypical). The median CMV viral load in BAL samples was 0 copies/ml for BAL samples from patients with IHC-negative biopsy samples; 47,678 copies/ml for BAL samples from patients with biopsy samples with positive, atypical staining; and 1,548,827 copies/ml for BAL samples from patients with biopsy samples with positive, typical staining (P < 0.001). Compared to routine pathology of biopsy samples, the use of IHC increased the diagnostic yield of CMV. Also, the CMV viral load in BAL fluid samples increased along with immunoreactivity from negative to positive, atypical staining to positive, typical staining. The CMV viral load determined with the end-organ sample, the BAL fluid sample, was higher than the corresponding viral load determined with blood. Both IHC and determination of the CMV viral load in BAL samples may be useful for the detection of individuals at risk for the development of fulminant invasive CMV disease.

The clinical utility of CMV surveillance cultures and antigenemia following bone marrow transplantation

Bone Marrow Transplantation, 1998

At our institution, the cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylaxis protocol for allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients who are CMV-seropositive or receive marrow from a CMV-seropositive donor consists of a surveillance bronchoscopy approximately 35 days posttransplant. Patients with a positive surveillance bronchoscopy for CMV receive pre-emptive ganciclovir. In order to determine the utility of other screening methods for CMV, we prospectively performed weekly CMV antigenemia, and blood, urine and throat cultures from time of engraftment to day 120 post-BMT in 126 consecutive patients. Pre-emptive ganciclovir was given to 11/81 patients (13.6%) because of a positive surveillance bronchoscopy for CMV. Results of CMV blood, urine and throat cultures and the antigenemia assay done prior to or at the time of the surveillance bronchoscopy were analyzed for their ability to predict the bronchoscopy result. The antigenemia test had the highest positive and negative predictive values (72% and 96%, respectively). The ability of these tests to predict CMV disease was evaluated in the 70 patients with a negative surveillance bronchoscopy who did not receive pre-emptive ganciclovir. Of 19 cases of active CMV disease, CMV antigenemia was positive in 15 patients (79%) a mean of 34 days preceding symptoms. Blood cultures were positive in 14/19 patients (74%) a mean of 31 days before onset of disease. CMV antigenemia is useful for predicting the surveillance bronchoscopy result, and also predicts the development of CMV disease in the majority of patients missed by the surveillance bronchoscopy.

Clinical Utility of Cytomegalovirus Viral Load in Bronchoalveolar Lavage in Lung Transplant Recipients: Clinical Utility of Cytomegalovirus Viral Load

American Journal of Transplantation, 2005

The utility of cytomegalovirus (CMV) viral load (VL) by quantitative hybrid capture assay (Q-HCA) was investigated in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) from lung transplant recipients and compared with BAL cultures and blood VL. Forty-three consecutive BAL samples from 27 lung transplant recipients were analyzed. All samples had shell vial (SV) cultures in addition to Q-HCA. Histopathology was done on all lung tissues, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) in those with positive CMV cultures. Fifteen (56%) lung transplant recipients had both positive BAL SV cultures and BAL VL. Five of 15 had CMV pneumonitis with a VL in BAL >500 000 copies/mL (mean: 1638 450). Ten patients without CMV pneumonitis had VL in BAL <500 000 copies/mL (mean 81 820, p = 0.002). High VL in BAL and blood invariably meant CMV pneumonitis, but 2 patients with CMV pneumonitis had high BAL VL but relatively low blood VL. Initial CMV seronegativity was associated with pneumonitis (4/5 vs. 1/10; p = 0.004) and higher BAL CMV VL (p = 0.03). High CMV BAL or blood VL did not correlate with acute rejection or development of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). High CMV VL in BAL in lung transplant recipients is strongly associated with CMV pneumonitis, and may be more predictive than peripheral blood viral load.

Circulating Cytomegalovirus (CMV)‐Infected Endothelial Cells in Marrow Transplant Patients with CMV Disease and CMV Infection

The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 1997

Circulating cytomegalovirus (CMV)-infected endothelial cells (CCIC) have been found in immunocompromised patients with CMV disease and have been associated with disease severity. The frequency of CCIC in marrow transplant recipients was studied to determine its use for distinguishing between CMV pneumonia and asymptomatic CMV infection. CCIC were found in 13 (81%) of 16 patients with CMV pneumonia (5/6 without copathogen; 7/10 with copathogen) and in 10 (50%) of 20 patients with asymptomatic CMV antigenemia at different levels. There was no statistically significant association for the incidence nor the quantitative level of CCIC in patients with asymptomatic CMV antigenemia, CMV pneumonia with or without copathogen, or different levels of CMV virus load measured by antigenemia. The high incidence and quantitative level of CCIC in patients without clinical disease suggests a role for CCIC in CMV dissemination rather than its being a specific marker of organ or tissue damage after marrow transplantation.

Clinical Utility of Cytomegalovirus Viral Load in Bronchoalveolar Lavage in Lung Transplant Recipients

American Journal of Transplantation, 2005

The utility of cytomegalovirus (CMV) viral load (VL) by quantitative hybrid capture assay (Q-HCA) was investigated in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) from lung transplant recipients and compared with BAL cultures and blood VL. Forty-three consecutive BAL samples from 27 lung transplant recipients were analyzed. All samples had shell vial (SV) cultures in addition to Q-HCA. Histopathology was done on all lung tissues, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) in those with positive CMV cultures. Fifteen (56%) lung transplant recipients had both positive BAL SV cultures and BAL VL. Five of 15 had CMV pneumonitis with a VL in BAL >500 000 copies/mL (mean: 1638 450). Ten patients without CMV pneumonitis had VL in BAL <500 000 copies/mL (mean 81 820, p = 0.002). High VL in BAL and blood invariably meant CMV pneumonitis, but 2 patients with CMV pneumonitis had high BAL VL but relatively low blood VL. Initial CMV seronegativity was associated with pneumonitis (4/5 vs. 1/10; p = 0.004) and higher BAL CMV VL (p = 0.03). High CMV BAL or blood VL did not correlate with acute rejection or development of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). High CMV VL in BAL in lung transplant recipients is strongly associated with CMV pneumonitis, and may be more predictive than peripheral blood viral load.

Differences in CMV-Specific T-Cell Levels and Long-Term Susceptibility to CMV Infection after Kidney, Heart and Lung Transplantation

American Journal of Transplantation, 2005

Patients after kidney, heart and lung transplantation differ in their immunosuppressive drug regimens and in susceptibility to infectious complications with cytomegalovirus (CMV). In this study, CMV-specific T-cell responses were characterized in long-term transplant recipients and associated with the frequency of infectious complications. CMV-reactive CD4 T cells from 50 healthy controls, 68 renal, 14 heart and 24 lung transplant recipients were flow cytometrically quantified by the induction of cytokines after specific stimulation. Moreover, the immunosuppressive effect of calcineurin inhibitors on specific T-cell reactivity was quantified in vitro and compared with responses in vivo. Median CMV-specific T-cell frequencies in long-term renal (1.48%; range 0.06-17.26%) and heart transplant recipients (0.90%; 0.13-12.49%) did not differ from controls (1.82%; 0.26-21.00%). In contrast, CMV-specific T-cell levels were significantly lower in lung transplant recipients (0.50%; <0.05-4.98%) and showed a significant correlation with the frequency of infectious episodes (r = −0.57, p = 0.005). The differences within the groups were associated with increasing dosages of immunosuppressive drugs, as exemplified for calcineurin inhibitors that dose dependently reduced specific T-cell reactivity in vitro. In conclusion, monitoring CMV-specific CD4 T cells may serve as a measure for long-term disease susceptibility and may contribute to an improved management of CMV complications after lung transplantation.

Should cytomegalovirus be tested for in both blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients at a high risk of CMV pneumonia after bone marrow transplantation?

British Journal of Haematology, 1997

To identify and treat patients at high risk of cytomegalovirus (CMV) pneumonia after bone marrow transplantation (BMT), we tested for CMV viraemia weekly, and performed broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) on day 35 post-transplant in 63 recipients. 36 allogeneic BMT recipients were at a high risk of CMV pneumonia (25 CMVseropositive recipients and 11 patients receiving marrow from a CMV-seropositive donor). Patients with a positive BAL or viraemia received a 14 d course of ganciclovir or foscarnet. CMV was detected in 29 (46%) of the 63 BMT recipients and excretion of CMV in blood and BAL was significantly linked. However, among the 29 patients who excreted the virus, only 10 (35%) shed CMV in blood and BAL at the same time; 19 patients (65%) had detectable CMV in blood (11 patients) or BAL (eight patients) only. Therefore, on the basis of viraemia or BAL alone, 21/29 patients (70%) and 18/29 patients (60%), respectively, would have received antiviral treatment. BAL increased the CMV detection rate by 13% (8/63 patients) relative to viraemia. With this strategy, the incidence of CMV pneumonia was reduced to 3% in allografted patients. Only two of the 19 autografted patients developed fatal CMV pneumonia. We avoided anti-CMV treatment in 54% of all the BMT recipients. In conclusion, CMV should be tested for in both blood and BAL fluid of BMT recipients at high risk of CMV pneumonia.

CD4 + T cell levels are decreased during active CMV infection in kidney transplant recipients

FEMS Immunology & Medical Microbiology, 2002

The numbers of T lymphocytes and T cell subsets (CD2 þ , CD3 þ , CD4 þ , CD8 þ), activated T cells (CD26 þ), B cells (CD19 þ), granulocytes (CD15 þ) and natural killer cells (CD16/56) were monitored by flow cytometry in 79 kidney transplant recipients, 35 of whom had cytomegalovirus infection. The percentages of these cells were correlated with viral load, as determined by cytomegalovirus antigenemia. Development of cytomegaloviral infection coincided with a significant reduction in the percentages of CD4 þ (P 6 0.005) and CD3 þ (P 6 0.05) cells. Monitoring of lymphocyte subsets may provide useful information on immunological events during cytomegaloviral infection. ß 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. on behalf of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies.