Expression of proinflammatory genes in human intestinal mucosa as predictors of rejection of intestinal transplant.

CAGNOLA H; MEIER D; ZAMBERNARDI A; RUMBO C; DOCENA G; CHIRDO F; GONDOLESI G; RUMBO M

Viña del Mar

Congreso; IX Latin American Congress of Immunology; 2009

Asociacion Latinoamericana de Inmunologia ALAI

Intestinal transplantation is the accepted treatment for irreversible intestinal failure and complications of total parenteral nutrition. Acute cellular rejection (ACR) is a frequent complication, a first cause of graft loss and is usually diagnosed by histological analysis. No markers to detect ACR are available. Our aim was to characterize the ACR process by gene expression analysis in intestinal mucosa along follow up for selecting candidate markers of rejection. Expression of IFN-g, CXCL10, CXCL11, CXCR3, and CCL20 was measured by RT-qPCR in graft biopsies obtained during the first 3 months post-transplantation. Twenty-one samples of 6 pediatric patients were analyzed, including 3 ACR events, ranging from mild to severe. In samples taken during ACR, induction of IFN-g (fold increase range (FIR) 4 to 17, depending on individual sample), CXCL11 (FIR 8 to 22), CXCL10 (FIR 5 to 27), and CCL20 (FIR 2 to 22) was observed. Induction levels correlated with the severity of the histological findings and rejection. IFN-g, CXCL10, and CXCL11 expression levels increased before ACR indicating that these genes might be putative predictors of rejection in the clinics. Although a wider set of analysis is necessary, our results demonstrate that graft gene expression analysis is a valuable tool for ACR characterization.