Abstract
Viral infections and reactivations are major causes of morbidity and mortality after hematopoietic stem cell (HSCT) and solid organ transplantation (SOT) as well as in patients with immunodeficiencies. Latent herpesviruses (e.g., cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and human herpesvirus 6), lytic viruses (e.g., adenovirus), and polyomaviruses (e.g., BK virus, JC virus) can cause severe complications. Antiviral drugs form the mainstay of treatment for viral infections and reactivations after transplantation, but they have side effects and cannot achieve complete viral clearance without prior reconstitution of functional antiviral T-cell immunity. The aim of this study was to establish normal ranges for virus-specific T-cell (VST) frequencies in healthy donors. Such data are needed for better interpretation of VST frequencies observed in immunocompromised patients. Therefore, we measured the frequencies of VSTs against 23 viral protein-derived peptide pools from 11 clinically relevant human viruses in blood from healthy donors (n = 151). Specifically, we determined the VST frequencies by interferon-gamma enzyme-linked immunospot assay and classified their distribution according to age and gender to allow for a more specific evaluation and prediction of antiviral immune responses. The reference values established here provide an invaluable tool for immune response evaluation, intensity of therapeutic drugs and treatment decision-making in immunosuppressed patients. This data should make an important contribution to improving the assessment of immune responses in immunocompromised patients.
Highlights
Following hematopoietic stem cell (HSCT) and solid organ transplantation (SOT), immunosuppressive therapy is administered to prevent graft rejection and graft-versus-host1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)Journal of Clinical Immunology disease (GvHD)
Frequencies of CMV-specific T cells slightly increased with age in males, but not in females
The percentage of total C D3+ TEMRA within the different responder groups was larger in high responders than in intermediate and low responders
Summary
Following hematopoietic stem cell (HSCT) and solid organ transplantation (SOT), immunosuppressive therapy is administered to prevent graft rejection and graft-versus-host1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)Journal of Clinical Immunology disease (GvHD). Following hematopoietic stem cell (HSCT) and solid organ transplantation (SOT), immunosuppressive therapy is administered to prevent graft rejection and graft-versus-host. Prophylactic regimens transiently lead to strong immunosuppression, mainly, by decreasing CD3+ T-cell numbers [1]. The risk of life-threatening bacterial, fungal, and viral infections as well as recurrent viral reactivation increases. Lymphopenia in the regeneration phase after HSCT enhances the pathogenassociated morbidity and mortality. Up to 22% and 53% of overall mortality after HSCT and SOT, respectively, are associated with infections resulting from a lack of specific T-cell immunity [2,3,4]. Individuals with congenital primary or secondary immunodeficiencies are even more susceptible to infectious complications, which are among the leading causes of death [5,6,7]
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