AUTHOR=Vidal-Castiñeira Jose Ramón , Corte-Iglesias Viviana , Sobrino-Diaz Lucia , Pérez-Fernández Sonia , Melón Santiago , López-Larrea Carlos , Díaz-Corte Carmen 

TITLE=Effect of Type of Dialysis on CMV-Specific CD8+ T Cells in Kidney Transplant Candidates

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2019.01680

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2019.01680

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Dialysis is the first procedure to partially replace renal function in end-stage renal diseases, despite several adverse side effects, such as infections. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of immune CMV-specific CD8+ T cells in a representative cohort of pre-transplant patients receiving hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD). The secondary aim was to monitor the CMV-specific CD8+ T cells in kidney transplant recipients undergoing different types of dialysis during the first year following their transplant.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Sixty-nine patients were enrolled and examined with respect to the type of dialysis they received. HLA class I dextramers for CMV were used to determine the quantity of CMV-specific CD8+ T cells. The CMV DNA viral load was also determined. Forty-two of the patients enrolled in the study underwent solid organ transplantation and were analyzed during their first year post-transplantation.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Patients receiving HD had fewer CMV-specific CD8+ T cells than those in PD (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05). We also observed that patients in PD had more CMV-specific CD8+ T cells during the follow-up period than those in HD (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05), independently of the CMV DNA. Finally, PD patients had a higher frequency of CD8+ Effector-Memory RA T cells (TEMRA) and a lower frequency of central memory T cells (TCM) than did HD patients.</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> These results indicate the better status of CMV-specific T cell immunity in PD patients. The use of CMV T cell dextramers would be advantageous for monitoring the CD8+ T-specific response, enabling the use of prophylactic treatment to be optimized.</p>