Open AccessASSOCIATION BETWEEN EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS INFECTION AND LATE ACUTE TRANSPLANT REJECTION IN LONG-TERM TRANSPLANT PATIENTS1
Author(s) -
Nina Babel,
Fritz Schwarzmann,
Nadja Prang,
Michael Jaeger,
Hans Wolf,
Florian Kern,
Hans Dieter Volk,
Petra Reinke
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.45
H-Index - 204
eISSN - 1534-6080
pISSN - 0041-1337
DOI - 10.1097/00007890-200108270-00031
Subject(s) - lytic cycle , immunology , medicine , immune system , ganciclovir , antigen , virus , herpesviridae , epstein–barr virus , pathogenesis , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , betaherpesvirinae , cytomegalovirus , transplant rejection , virology , human cytomegalovirus , viral disease , biology , biochemistry , in vitro
Recently we reported about a possible involvement of extrarenal systemic cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in graft deteriorating immune processes. We now examined whether Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may also be associated with late renal graft injury. We analyzed the expression of early antigen-, viral capsid antigen-, and a latency-associated EBV-RNA-transcript, which is not translated into protein in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of kidney transplant patients with histologically proven late acute rejection and no signs of CMV or any other infection (A), patients with stable graft function (B), and healthy probands (C). A total of 40% in group A vs. 5 and 0% in groups B and C, respectively, expressed early antigen-mRNA (P<0.05) suggesting an activation of lytic EBV infection. Response to steroid bolus therapy in group A was comparably poor with that observed in CMV-related graft injury. Our data suggest that extrarenal lytic EBV infection may also be involved in the pathogenesis of late graft injury. A controlled ganciclovir trial may prove the significance of our observation.