Increase of donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) in coronary allograft vasculopathy in heart transplanted patients

摘要: Methods69 patients that underwent HTx in the last 10 years were enrolled. In 46 of these, blood samples were analyzed by NGS to identify dd-cfDNA. Massive miRNA analysis was conducted in a subset of 11 subjects (4 CAV; 4 no-CAV and 3 healthy controls) to characterize transcriptional signatures. Troponin T (hs-TnT) and NT-proBNP (Brain Natriuretic Peptide) were measured by automated immunoassays. Echocardiographic and coronary angiogram data were collected.ResultsHTx recipients were divided into 2 groups: half of the patients had CAV, while the other half not (no-CAV). No significant differences between the two populations were observed, aside from time from HTx (167.68±79.02 in CAV vs 82.90±75.71 months in no-CAV; p= 0.002) and prevalence of chronic kidney disease (73.5% in CAV vs 48.5% in no-CAV; p= 0.034). A significant difference in dd-cfDNA fraction was found between CAV and no …