Comparison of donor-derived cell-free DNA between single vs. double lung transplant recipients. American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons Keller, M. B., Meda, R., Fu, S., Yu, K., Jang, M. K., Charya, A., Berry, G. J., Marboe, C. C., Kong, H., Luikart, H., Ponor, I. L., Shah, P. D., Khush, K. K., Nathan, S. D., Agbor-Enoh, S. 2022

Abstract

Plasma donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) is a sensitive biomarker for the diagnosis of acute rejection in lung transplant recipients, however, differences in dd-cfDNA levels between single and double lung transplant remains unknown. We performed an observational analysis that included 221 patients from two prospective cohort studies who had serial measurements of plasma dd-cfDNA at the time of bronchoscopy and pulmonary function testing, and compared dd-cfDNA between single and double lung transplant recipients across a range of disease states. Levels of dd-cfDNA were lower for single vs double lung transplant in stable controls (Median (IQR): 0.15% (0.07, 0.44) vs 0.46% (0.23, 0.74), p <0.01) and acute rejection (1.06% (0.75, 2.32) vs 1.78% (1.18, 5.73), p = 0.05). Doubling dd-cfDNA for single lung transplant to account for differences in lung mass eliminated this difference. The area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) for detection of acute rejection was 0.89 and 0.86 for single and double lung transplant, respectively. The optimal dd-cfDNA threshold for detection of acute rejection was 0.54% in single lung and 1.1% in double lung transplant. In conclusion, accounting for differences in dd-cfDNA in single vs double lung transplant is key for interpretation of dd-cfDNA testing in research and clinical settings.

View details for DOI 10.1111/ajt.17039

View details for PubMedID 35322546