Treatment-Dependent Loss of Polyfunctional Cd8+ T-Cell Responses in HIV-Infected Kidney Transplant Recipients Is Associated with Herpesvirus Reactivation

Publication Type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2009
Authors
Gasser, O; Bihl, F; Sanghavi, S; Rinaldo, C; Rowe, D; Hess, C; Stablein, D; Roland, M; Stock, P; Brander, C
Secondary
Am J Transplant
Volume
9
Start Page
794
Pagination
794-803
Date Published
04/2009
Keywords
Acyclovir; Adult; Aged; Antiviral Agents; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Cell Survival; Cytomegalovirus; Flow cytometry; Ganciclovir; HIV Infections; HLA-A Antigens; HLA-B Antigens; HLA-DR Antigens
ISBN
16006143
Abstract
Antiretroviral-therapy has dramatically changed the course of HIV infection and HIV-infected (HIV(+)) individuals are becoming more frequently eligible for solid-organ transplantation. However, only scarce data are available on how immunosuppressive (IS) strategies relate to transplantation outcome and immune function. We determined the impact of transplantation and immune-depleting treatment on CD4+ T-cell counts, HIV-, EBV-, and Cytomegalovirus (CMV)-viral loads and virus-specific T-cell immunity in a 1-year prospective cohort of 27 HIV(+) kidney transplant recipients. While the results show an increasing breadth and magnitude of the herpesvirus-specific cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) response over-time, they also revealed a significant depletion of polyfunctional virus-specific CTL in individuals receiving thymoglobulin as a lymphocyte-depleting treatment. The disappearance of polyfunctional CTL was accompanied by virologic EBV-reactivation events, directly linking the absence of specific polyfunctional CTL to viral reactivation. The data provide first insights into the immune-reserve in HIV+ infected transplant recipients and highlight new immunological effects of thymoglobulin treatment. Long-term studies will be needed to assess the clinical risk associated with thymoglobulin treatment, in particular with regards to EBV-associated lymphoproliferative diseases.