Soluble HLA-G levels in heart transplant recipients: Dynamics and correlation with clinical outcomes.

Transplant immunology 2023 Feb

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To describe the evolution of the serum levels of soluble HLA-G (s-HLA-G) during the first 12 months after heart transplantation (HT) and to correlate it with clinical outcomes. Observational study based in a single-center cohort of 59 patients who underwent HT between December-2003 and March-2010. Soluble HLA-G levels were measured from serum samples extracted before HT, and 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after HT. The cumulative burden of s-HLA-G expression during the first post-transplant year was assessed by means of the area under the curve (AUC) of s-HLA-G levels over time and correlated with the acute rejection burden -as assessed by a rejection score-, the presence of coronary allograft vasculopathy (CAV) grade ≥ 1 and infections during the first post-transplant year; as well as with long-term patient and graft survival. Mean follow-up was 12.4 years. Soluble HLA-G levels decreased over the first post-transplant year (p = 0.020). The AUC of s-HLA-G levels during the first post-transplant year was higher among patients with infections vs. those without infections (p = 0.006). No association was found between the AUC of s-HLA-G levels and the burden of acute rejection or the development of CAV. Overall long-term survival, long-term survival free of late graft failure and cancer-free survival were not significantly different in patients with an AUC of s-HLA-G levels higher or lower than the median of the study population. Soluble HLA-G levels decreased over the first year after HT. Higher HLA-G expression was associated with a higher frequency of infections, but not with the burden of acute rejection or the development of CAV, neither with long-term patient or graft survival. Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Citation

Zulaika Grille-Cancela, Eduardo Barge-Caballero, Natalia Suárez-Fuentetaja, Nieves Domenech-García, María J Paniagua-Martín, Gonzalo Barge-Caballero, David Couto-Mallón, Daniel Enríquez-Vázquez, Paula Blanco-Canosa, Jorge Pombo-Otero, José M Vázquez-Rodríguez, María G Crespo-Leiro. Soluble HLA-G levels in heart transplant recipients: Dynamics and correlation with clinical outcomes. Transplant immunology. 2023 Feb;76:101771