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Updated: Sep 25, 2025
Quantification of Circulating Pig-Specific DNA in the Blood of a Xenotransplantation Model
Published on: September 22, 2020
Cell-free DNA as a biomarker after lung transplantation: A proof-of-concept study
Jesper M Magnusson1,2, Anne Ricksten3,4, Göran Dellgren1,5
1Transplant Institute, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Background:
Lung transplantation (LTx) is a lifesaving procedure burdened with limited long-term survival. The most common cause of death after LTx is chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD). Today, useful biomarkers for the detection of CLAD are lacking. Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is released during cellular decay and can be detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Thus, donor-derived cfDNA in recipient serum indicates cellular decay in the transplanted organ. In the current study, we explore the possibility of using a novel PCR method to detect cfDNA as a biomarker for clinical events, especially CLAD.
Methods:
Four patients were retrospectively tested for levels of both donor and recipient-derived cfDNA using digital droplet PCR after targeted preamplification. The results were correlated to recorded clinical events.
Results:
All available samples rendered results. Both patients that later developed CLAD showed a persistently elevated ratio between donor-and recipient-derived cfDNA. Also, the mean level of cfDNA was higher in the two patients who later developed CLAD than in patients who did not (p = .0015).
Conclusions:
This proof-of-concept study suggests that cfDNA quantified with PCR may be used as a biomarker of significant clinical events such as CLAD.
