Dataset Information

Longitudinal profiling of circulating miRNA during cardiac allograft rejection: a proof-of-concept study.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

Allograft rejection following heart transplantation (HTx) is a serious complication even in the era of modern immunosuppressive regimens and causes up to a third of early deaths after HTx. Allograft rejection is mediated by a cascade of immune mechanisms leading to acute cellular rejection (ACR) and/or antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). The gold standard for monitoring allograft rejection is invasive endomyocardial biopsy that exposes patients to complications. Little is known about the potential of circulating miRNAs as biomarkers to detect cardiac allograft rejection. We here present a systematic analysis of circulating miRNAs as biomarkers and predictors for allograft rejection after HTx using next-generation small RNA sequencing.

Methods and results

We used next-generation small RNA sequencing to investigate circulating miRNAs among HTx recipients (10 healthy controls, 10 heart failure patients, 13 ACR, and 10 AMR). MiRNA profiling was performed at different time points before, during, and after resolution of the rejection episode. We found three miRNAs with significantly increased serum levels in patients with biopsy-proven cardiac rejection when compared with patients without rejection: hsa-miR-139-5p, hsa-miR-151a-5p, and hsa-miR-186-5p. We identified miRNAs that may serve as potential predictors for the subsequent development of ACR: hsa-miR-29c-3p (ACR) and hsa-miR-486-5p (AMR). Overall, hsa-miR-486-5p was most strongly associated with acute rejection episodes.

Conclusions

Monitoring cardiac allograft rejection using circulating miRNAs might represent an alternative strategy to invasive endomyocardial biopsy.

SUBMITTER: Kennel PJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8120386 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundCardiac allograft rejection remains a significant clinical problem in the early phase after heart transplantation and requires frequent surveillance with endomyocardial biopsy. However, this is an invasive procedure, which is unpleasant for the patient and carries a certain risk. Therefore, a sensitive non-invasive biomarker of acute rejection would be desirable.MethodsEndomyocardial tissue samples and serum were obtained in connection with clinical biopsies from twenty consecutive heart transplant patients followed for six months. A rejection episode was observed in 14 patients (11 men and 3 women) and biopsies obtained before, during and after the episode were identified. Endomyocardial RNA, from three patients, matching these three points in time were analysed with DNA microarray. Genes showing up-regulation during rejection followed by normalization after the rejection episode were evaluated further with real-time RT-PCR. Finally, ELISA was performed to investigate whether change in gene-regulation during graft rejection was reflected in altered concentrations of the encoded protein in serum.ResultsThree potential cardiac allograft rejection biomarker genes, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 9 (CXCL9), chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 10 (CXCL10) and Natriuretic peptide precursor A (NPPA), from the DNA microarray analysis were selected for further evaluation. CXCL9 was significantly upregulated during rejection (p < 0.05) and CXCL10 displayed a similar pattern without reaching statistical significance. Serum levels of CXCL9 and CXCL10 were measured by ELISA in samples from 10 patients before, during and after cardiac rejection. There were no changes in CXCL9 and CXCL10 serum concentrations during cardiac rejection. Both chemokines displayed large individual variations in the selected samples, but the serum levels between the two chemokines correlated (p < 0.001).ConclusionWe conclude, that despite a distinct up-regulation of CXCL9 mRNA in human hearts during cardiac allograft rejection, this was not reflected in the serum levels of the encoded protein. Thus, in contrast to previous suggestions, serum CXCL9 does not appear to be a promising serum biomarker for cardiac allograft rejection.

Project description:Low levels of plasma adiponectin, an adipocytokine that possesses anti-inflammatory and antiatherogenic properties, frequently observed among obese subjects correlate with higher prevalence of several cardiovascular diseases. This study investigated whether adiponectin modulates allograft rejection in major histocompatibility complex class II-mismatched cardiac transplants.We heterotopically transplanted Bm12 allografts into adiponectin-deficient (APN-/-, C57BL/6 background) or wild-type (APN+/+) mice. Some APN-/- mice received adiponectin reconstitution by adenovirus. Histologic analyses assessed allograft rejection, and real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction evaluated the genes for cytokines/chemokines associated with the immune and inflammatory responses. In addition, we tested the effect of adiponectin on proliferation and cytokine/chemokine production in mouse T lymphocytes stimulated in vitro with anti-CD3 antibodies.Allografts transplanted to APN-/- mice showed severe acute rejection relative to transplants in APN+/+ hosts accompanied by increased accumulation of CD4- and CD8-positive T lymphocytes and Mac3-positive macrophages. Adiponectin provision by adenovirus in APN-/- mice reversed these exacerbated responses to allografting. The rejected allografts in APN-/- mice contained significantly higher levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interferon-gamma, and regulated on activation normal t expressed and presumably secreted. Moreover, adiponectin significantly suppressed proliferation and production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interferon-gamma, regulated on activation normal t expressed and presumably secreted, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, and interferon-gamma inducible protein-10 in mouse T lymphocytes stimulated in vitro with anti-CD3 antibodies.These observations provide new mechanistic insight into immunoregulation in allograft recipients relative to obesity, an increasingly prevalent risk factor. Adiponectin may offer a new therapeutic target for allograft rejection after cardiac transplantation.