Induction and Donor Specific Antibodies in Low Immunologic Risk Kidney Transplant Recipients

Natalie M. Bath, Arjang Djamali, Sandesh Parajuli, Didier A. Mandelbrot, Glen Leverson, Luis G. Hidalgo, Thomas Ellis, Jillian L. Descourouez, Margaret R. Jorgenson, Dave Hager, Dixon B. Kaufman, Robert R. Redfield
2020 Kidney360  
Optimal induction for patients without pretransplant donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) is poorly defined. The goal of this study was to compare the incidence of de novo DSA (dnDSA) and graft outcomes between induction therapies in patients with a negative virtual crossmatch (VXM). A retrospective chart review was performed, identifying 782 patients with a negative VXM who underwent kidney transplantation at a single, high-volume institution between January 2013 and May 2017. Kaplan-Meier
more » ... was used to assess the incidence of dnDSA and allograft survival between induction therapies in this group. dnDSA is defined as the development of new post-transplant DSA, at any MFI level. Induction therapy included alemtuzumab (N=87, 11%), basiliximab (N=522, 67%), and anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG; N=173, 22%). One-year graft survival was similar between groups (alemtuzumab, 100%; basiliximab, 98%; ATG, 99%). Incidence of acute rejection at 1 year was <2% and not different between the three groups. Alemtuzumab was associated with the highest incidence of dnDSA at 14%, compared with 5% and 8% in basiliximab and ATG groups, respectively, at 1 year (P=0.009). In multivariate regression analyses, alemtuzumab retained its significant association with a dnDSA HR of 2.5 (95% CI, 1.51 to 4.25; P=0.0004). In summary, alemtuzumab was associated with a higher rate of dnDSA development in patients with a negative VXM; however, this finding was not associated with rejection or graft failure.
doi:10.34067/kid.0000122020 pmid:35372884 pmcid:PMC8815535 fatcat:xk6tyrh4abbipgbaikf4k6sxsy