Donor-derived cell-free DNA kinetics in the first year post-transplant in patients without acute cellular rejection

M. Jimenez-Blanco Bravo,M. Crespo Leiro, E. Gonzalez Sardinero, M. Gomez Bueno, R. Lopez Villela, C. Ortiz Bautista, M. Farrero, A. Maestro Benedicto,B. Diaz Molina,C. Diez Lopez, D. Rangel Sousa, N. Salterain,I. Garrido Bravo,J. Segovia Cubero

European Heart Journal(2023)

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Abstract
Background Donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) appears to be an excellent biomarker for acute cellular rejection (ACR) in heart transplant (HT) recipients. However, a significant rise in the immediate post-transplant phase probably related to direct myocardial damage during harvesting-implantation process has been described, and could potentially affect the biomarker’s performance in the first post-HT month. We sought to describe the biomarker’s kinetics in the first year post-HT in patients without ACR. Methods Prospective, multicentre study performed between 2019 and 2022. All patients underwent surveillance endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) at 7 pre-specified time points in the first post-HT year (0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12 months). Dd-cfDNA levels were determined prior to each EMB, using Next Generation Sequencing technology. Results A total of 1006 pairs of EMB-dd-cfDNA from 206 patients were available for analysis (mean age 54 ±12 years, 74% male). Of these, 44 (4.3%) had clinically relevant rejection, defined as ACR grade ≥2, and 962 (95.7%) did not (562 0R and 400 1R). 15 samples that had pAMR≥1 were excluded from this analysis. We divided the 947 samples with ACR 0-1 into three subgroups, according to the time of blood sampling: at 15 days (time point 1), at 30 days (time point 2) and 2 to 12 months post-HT (time point 3). Samples with 0R that were drawn at 15 and 30 days showed significantly higher levels of dd-cfDNA than those drawn between the second month and first year post-transplant (p <0.001) (Figure 1A). When we included patients with 1R, a similar trend was observed (p <0.001) (Figure 1B). Median dd-cfDNA levels for 0R and for 0-1R at the three time points are shown in Figure 2. Conclusions Dd-cfDNA levels in patients without clinically relevant rejection are significantly higher in the first month post-transplant. Further studies are needed in order to determine if a different cut-off point for ACR during the first post-HT month is useful for ACR diagnosis.Donor-derived cell-free DNA kineticsDd-cfDNA values at three time points
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Key words
dna,donor-derived,cell-free,post-transplant
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