Early fulminant BK polyomavirus-associated nephropathy in two kidney transplant patients with low neutralizing antibody titers receiving allografts from the same donor.
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ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:BK Polyomavirus (BKPyV) causes premature graft failure in 1 to 15% of kidney transplant (KT) recipients. High-level BKPyV-viruria and BKPyV-DNAemia precede polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (PyVAN), and guide clinical management decisions. In most cases, BKPyV appears to come from the donor kidney, but data from biopsy-proven PyVAN cases are lacking. Here, we report the early fulminant course of biopsy-proven PyVAN in two male KT recipients in their sixties, receiving kidneys from the same deceased male donor. CASE PRESENTATIONS:Both recipients received intravenous basiliximab induction, and maintenance therapy consisting of tacrolimus (trough levels 3-7?ng/mL from time of engraftment), mycophenolate mofetil 750?mg bid, and prednisolone. At 4?weeks post-transplant, renal function was satisfactory with serum creatinine concentrations of 106 and 72??mol/L in recipient #1 and recipient #2, respectively. Plasma BKPyV-DNAemia was first investigated at 5 and 8?weeks post-transplant being 8.58?×?104 and 1.12?×?106 copies/mL in recipient #1 and recipient #2, respectively. Renal function declined and biopsy-proven PyVAN was diagnosed in both recipients at 12?weeks post-transplant. Mycophenolate mofetil levels were reduced from 750?mg to 250?mg bid while tacrolimus levels were kept below 5?ng/mL. Recipient #2 cleared BKPyV-DNAemia at 5.5?months post-transplant, while recipient #1 had persistent BKPyV-DNAemia of 1.07?×?105 copies/mL at the last follow-up 52?weeks post-transplant. DNA sequencing of viral DNA from early plasma samples revealed apparently identical viruses in both recipients, belonging to genotype Ib-2 with archetype non-coding control region. Retrospective serological work-up, demonstrated that the donor had high BKPyV-IgG-virus-like particle ELISA activity and a high BKPyV-genotype I neutralizing antibody titer, whereas both KT recipients only had low neutralizing antibody titers pre-transplantation. By 20?weeks post-transplant, the neutralizing antibody titer had increased by >?1000-fold in both recipients, but only recipient #2 cleared BKPyV-DNAemia. CONCLUSIONS:Low titers of genotype-specific neutralizing antibodies in recipients pre-transplant, may identify patients at high risk for early fulminant donor-derived BKPyV-DNAemia and PyVAN, but development of high neutralizing antibody titers may not be sufficient for clearance.
SUBMITTER: Lorentzen EM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6954500 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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