Evaluation of polyomavirus BK reactivation in lupus patients who underwent kidney transplantation

Submitted: 13 February 2014
Accepted: 13 February 2014
Published: 30 June 2012
Abstract Views: 1434
PDF: 1017
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Background. A pathogenic role for polyomavirus BK in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been proposed, however no study evaluated the occurrence of BK replication in renal transplant recipients according to the underlying disease leading to transplantation and its potential impact. Methods. The occurrence of BK reactivation was serially evaluated in 468 renal transplant recipients, including 11 patients with SLE as underlying disease (overall, 2370 serum and 2370 urine specimens; 65 from SLE patients). Results. Considering the overall occurrence of viral reactivation (viremia and/or viruria), 26/65 (40%) specimens were positive in four SLE patients (36.3%) versus 331/2143 (15.4%) in 130/227 (57.3%) non-SLE patients. A patient transplanted for class III lupus nephritis evidenced sustained BK viremia and viruria (with viremia values potentially indicative of polyomavirus-associated nephropathy) in the absence of clinical features of renal dysfunction or recurrence of lupus nephritis. Conclusions. Further studies on larger populations and for a longer follow-up should be required to evaluate the impact of BKV reactivation in renal transplant patients with SLE as underlying disease, as well as the potential therapeutic implications.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

How to Cite

Costa, C., Touscoz, G. A., Sidoti, F., Sinesi, F., Re, D., Balloco, C., Alessio, E. P., Messina, M., Segoloni, G. P., & Cavallo, R. (2012). Evaluation of polyomavirus BK reactivation in lupus patients who underwent kidney transplantation. Microbiologia Medica, 27(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/mm.2012.2316