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In Vitro and In Vivo Assessment of T, B and Myeloid Cells Suppressive Activity and Humoral Responses from Transplant Recipients
Published on: August 12, 2017
Utility of the Cylex assay in cardiac transplant recipients
Sachin Gupta1, Joshua D Mitchell, David W Markham
1Division of Cardiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Insights
The Cylex immune assay showed limited utility in predicting infection or rejection risk in cardiac transplant patients. Further research is needed to establish its role in tailoring immunosuppression.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Transplantation Medicine
- Clinical Diagnostics
Background:
- The Cylex immune assay is a potential tool for personalized immunosuppression post-organ transplantation.
- Limited data exist on its effectiveness specifically in cardiac transplant recipients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the utility of the Cylex assay in assessing infection or rejection risk in cardiac transplant recipients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of adult cardiac transplant recipients who underwent Cylex assay between 2004 and 2007.
- Analysis of clinical outcomes, including rejection episodes and infections, following the assay.
Main Results:
- No correlation found between baseline Cylex response and subsequent infection or rejection risk within 6 months.
- Lower white blood cell count and African American ethnicity were associated with lower Cylex responses.
- Few rejection episodes and infections occurred in the study cohort.
Conclusions:
- The Cylex assay demonstrated limited utility as an adjunct for routine clinical assessment of infection or rejection risk in cardiac transplant recipients.
Background:
Although the Cylex immune assay has been proposed as a means of tailoring immunosuppression after organ transplantation, there are limited data regarding its utility in cardiac transplant recipients. Therefore, we sought to determine the utility of the Cylex assay in assessing the risk of infection or rejection in cardiac transplant recipients.
Methods:
This study is a retrospective review of the clinical course of all adult cardiac transplant recipients who underwent a Cylex assay at UT Southwestern Medical Center between January 2004 and September 2007.
Results:
One hundred eleven patients were free of significant rejection or infection at the time of the first Cylex assay. Most patients (92%) were >1 year post-transplant. Over the next 157 +/- 41 (mean +/- SD) days, 2 patients had 3 episodes of rejection requiring therapy and 7 patients had 8 infections requiring therapy. The Cylex responses ranged from 17 to 894 ng/ml. No correlation was observed between the baseline Cylex response and subsequent risk of either infection or rejection within 6 months. Lower white blood cell count and African American ethnicity were correlated with a lower Cylex response.
Conclusions:
In this study, the Cylex assay had limited utility as an adjunct to routine clinical evaluation in assessing risk of infection or rejection in cardiac transplant recipients.
