Impact of donor-specific antibodies on long-term graft survival with pediatric liver transplantation

摘要

BACKGROUND In a previous paper,we reported a high prevalence of donor-specific antibody(DSA)in pediatric patients with chronic rejection and expressed the need for confirmation of these findings in a larger cohort.AIM To clarify the importance of DSAs on long-term graft survival in a larger cohort of pediatric patients.METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of 123 pediatric liver transplantation(LT)recipients who participated in yearly follow-ups including Luminex testing for DSA at our center.The cohort was split into two groups according to the DSA status(DSA-positive n=54,DSA-negative n=69).Groups were compared with regard to liver function,biopsy findings,graft survival,need for re-LT and immunosuppressive medication.RESULTS DSA-positive pediatric patients showed a higher prevalence of chronic rejection(P=0.01),fibrosis(P<0.001)and re-transplantation(P=0.018)than DSA-negative patients.Class II DSAs particularly influenced graft survival.Alleles DQ2,DQ7,DQ8 and DQ9 might serve as indicators for the risk of chronic rejection and/or allograft fibrosis.Mean fluorescence intensity levels and DSA number did not impact graft survival.Previous episodes of chronic rejection might lead to DSA development.CONCLUSION DSA prevalence significantly affected long-term liver allograft performance and liver allograft survival in our cohort of pediatric LT.Screening for class II DSAs in combination with assessment of protocol liver biopsies for chronic antibodymediated rejection improved early identification of patients at risk of graft loss.