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Departments of
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Chemical Pathology,
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Surgery, and
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Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR.
Departments of
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Medicine and
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Pathology,
Princess Margaret Hospital, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR.
6
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales
Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR.
a Address correspondence to this author at: Department of Chemical Pathology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Room 38023, 1/F Clinical Sciences Bldg., 30-32 Ngan Shing St., Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Fax 852-2194-6171; e-mail loym{at}cuhk.edu.hk
| Abstract |
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Methods: Thirty-one female patients who had renal transplantation were enrolled in the study. In women with male organ donors, the SRY gene on the Y chromosome was used as a marker for donor-derived DNA. Real-time quantitative PCR for the SRY and ß-globin genes was carried out on cell-free urinary DNA from these patients. Serial urine samples from a female renal transplant recipient undergoing an acute rejection episode were also collected and analyzed with the ß-globin quantitative PCR system.
Results: SRY sequences were detected in the urine of 14 of 17 female patients with male organ donors. None of the 14 patients with female organ donors had detectable SRY sequences in urinary DNA. The median fractional concentration of donor-derived DNA was 8.7% (interquartile range, 1.926.4%). During the acute rejection episode, urinary concentrations of the ß-globin gene were markedly increased, with the concentrations returning rapidly to normal following antirejection treatment.
Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that urinary DNA chimerism is present following renal transplantation. The measurement of urinary DNA using quantitative PCR may be useful for the diagnosis and monitoring of graft rejection.
| Introduction |
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Detection of microchimerism following transplantation has been achieved predominantly by PCR-based techniques (2)(7)(8)(14). Both male-specific Y-chromosomal sequences and the human leukocyte antigen genes on chromosome 6 have been used for this purpose (11)(15). Recently, donor-derived DNA has also been detected in cell-free plasma of liver and kidney transplantation recipients, a phenomenon referred to as plasma DNA chimerism (16).
In addition to plasma DNA, DNA extracted from urine is also a potential source of material for molecular diagnosis (17). For example, point mutations and microsatellite alterations have been detected in urine samples of patients with bladder cancer (18)(19)(20). A urine specimen is potentially more accessible than blood and can be collected noninvasively on multiple occasions, a feature that is highly desirable for the purposes of disease monitoring.
In this report, we demonstrate the use of a real-time quantitative PCR for determining whether donor-derived DNA exists in cell-free urine samples of recipients who underwent sex-mismatched renal transplantation. We also provide data indicating that urinary DNA measurement may be useful for monitoring graft rejection.
| Materials and Methods |
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To elucidate whether renal biopsy might lead to any variation in concentration of urinary DNA, urine samples from six patients who suffered from renal diseases but who had not been transplanted were also studied before and after renal biopsy.
collection and processing of urine samples
Spontaneous urine samples from the patients were carefully
collected into sterile plain bottles. Urine samples were centrifuged at
1560g for 10 min. The supernatant was transferred carefully
into plain polypropylene tubes without disturbing the pellet at the
bottom of the bottle. The supernatant was recentrifuged at
1560g for 10 min and then transferred into fresh plain
tubes. The samples were frozen at -20 °C until further use.
dna extraction from urine samples
DNA from the cell-free urine samples was extracted using a QIAamp
Viral RNA Kit (Qiagen) according to the "QIAamp viral RNA
purification protocol" as recommended by the manufacturer. A 560-µL
cell-free urine sample was used for DNA extraction via spin column. An
elution volume of 50 µL was used.
real-time quantitative pcr
Primers and fluorescent probes for real-time quantitative PCR
assays for the SRY and ß-globin genes were as
described previously (21); 5 µL of extracted urinary DNA
was used as the template for the PCR reaction. Each sample was analyzed
in duplicate. Real-time quantitative PCR was carried out in a
Perkin-Elmer Applied Biosystems 7700 Sequence Detector (Perkin-Elmer).
The theoretical and practical aspects of real-time PCR analysis have
been described in detail elsewhere (21)(22). The
compositions and conditions of the PCR assays for SRY and
ß-globin sequence quantification as well as data
computation procedures were as detailed previously for the measurement
of fetal DNA in maternal plasma (21). The concentration of
urinary DNA was expressed as genome-equivalents/mmol creatinine (Cr).
One genome-equivalent was defined as the quantity of a particular DNA
sequence present in one diploid male cell. The urinary Cr concentration
was measured with a Hitachi 911 analyzer. The fractional concentration
of donor-derived sequences in urinary DNA was calculated by:
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PCR contamination was strictly controlled as described previously (21). Uracil N-glycosylase was used to further reduce the risk of carryover contamination (21)(23). Multiple water blanks were included in every analysis.
| Results |
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quantitative analysis of cell-free dna in urine samples
The values of the urinary SRY and
ß-globin sequences in the renal transplant
recipients without evidence of acute graft rejection are shown in Table 1
. Fourteen of 17 (82.4%) female transplant recipients with male
donors had detectable SRY DNA sequences in their cell-free
urine samples. The median concentration of donor-derived SRY
sequences was 14 428 genome-equivalents/mmol Cr (interquartile range,
10 382 to 17 560 genome-equivalents/mmol Cr). No Y-chromosome signal
was detected in the 14 female recipients with female donors. As an
amplification control, ß-globin sequences were
detectable in urinary DNA of all 31 subjects. The median urinary
ß-globin DNA concentration was 115 773
genome-equivalents/mmol Cr (interquartile range, 40 380 to 346 207
genome-equivalents/mmol Cr). The median fractional concentration of
donor-derived sequences in urinary DNA was 8.7% (interquartile range,
1.926.4%).
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urinary cell-free dna measurement during a graft rejection episode
During the study period, a female renal transplant recipient whose
graft was obtained from a female organ donor was admitted with a
clinical diagnosis of acute graft rejection. Renal biopsy was carried
out after the first urine sample was collected. No postbiopsy
complication was observed. Sequential urine samples were collected
before and after antirejection treatment. Because SRY PCR
analysis was not possible in this case of female-to-female
transplantation, we investigated the potential use of the
ß-globin gene as a marker for monitoring renal graft
rejection. The variation in the concentration of ß-globin
sequences in the recipient's urine is shown in Fig. 1
for the period from 2 days before treatment to 1 month
posttreatment. A dramatic increase in the concentration of urinary
ß-globin sequences was observed during the rejection
episode. Following antirejection treatment, the concentration of
urinary ß-globin sequences declined rapidly.
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To exclude the possibility that renal biopsy might lead to a
significant increase in the concentration of urinary DNA, six patients
who suffered from miscellaneous renal diseases but who had not
undergone transplantation and who were undergoing routine renal biopsy
were studied. Prebiopsy and 2-h and 1-day postbiopsy urine samples were
collected from these patients and analyzed by
ß-globin quantitative PCR. The quantitative PCR
results for the ß-globin sequences at various
time points and clinical information of the patients are summarized in
Table 2
. The median prebiopsy and 2-h and 1-day postbiopsy
ß-globin gene concentrations were 88 584
genome-equivalents/mmol Cr (interquartile range, 55 899 to 257 242
genome-equivalents/mmol Cr), 77 636 genome-equivalents/mmol Cr
(interquartile range, 31 201 to 296 302 genome-equivalents/mmol Cr)
and 83 847 genome-equivalents/mmol Cr (interquartile range, 6739 to
275 482 genome-equivalents/mmol Cr), respectively. Statistical
analysis reveal no significant difference between these three time
points (Friedman test, P = 0.846), indicating that
renal biopsy did not produce significant changes in the concentration
of urinary cell-free DNA.
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| Discussion |
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To evaluate the fractional concentration of donor-derived DNA, we also measured the concentration of ß-globin gene sequences (as a marker of donor- plus recipient-derived DNA) in the urine samples of the recipients. Donor-derived DNA constituted only a minor proportion (median, 8.7%) of total urinary DNA, suggesting that the main bulk of urinary DNA might originate from the circulation or from other organs of the recipients' urinary tract, e.g., the bladder.
The success or failure of renal transplantation is mainly dependent on whether graft rejection occurs. Several studies have suggested that the expression of genes related to apoptosis might be used as an indicator of renal graft rejection (24)(25)(26). These studies, however, required the use of renal biopsy, which is invasive and carries substantial risk. To evaluate whether urinary DNA may be used as a noninvasive marker of renal graft rejection, we studied the variation of urinary DNA during a rejection episode. Our results indicated that the concentration of urinary DNA of the recipient was markedly increased during the rejection episode and returned rapidly to a lower concentration after antirejection treatment. These data provided the first evidence that urinary DNA might be a new marker for monitoring renal graft rejection. The generality of these results would need to be confirmed in a larger series of patients undergoing graft rejection.
Because renal biopsy was performed in this individual to confirm the
diagnosis of graft rejection, we took special precautions to
investigate whether the procedure of renal biopsy might cause an
increase in urinary DNA. Thus, six patients undergoing routine renal
biopsy were recruited, and urinary DNA was measured both before the
biopsy and at two time points after the biopsy. Because no significant
systematic difference in urinary DNA concentrations before and after
biopsy was observed, the possibility that the biopsy procedure per se
may contribute to the changes in urinary DNA concentrations in the
subject who had rejection was excluded. Further corroborative evidence
that the increase in urinary DNA in the latter subject was not
secondary to the biopsy procedure could be seen in Fig. 1
, where a
substantial increase in urinary DNA concentration was already observed
at day 1, prior to the performance of the renal biopsy.
The mechanisms whereby increased cell-free DNA is liberated into the transplant recipient's urine during graft rejection are unclear at present. One possible mechanism is the increased liberation of donor-derived DNA as a result of cellular destruction secondary to the rejection process. A second mechanism is the liberation of DNA from the recipient's immune effector cells that have been recruited to the rejection site. In this regard, it is interesting to note that the liberation of DNA from lymphocytes has been observed in experimental systems (27). Furthermore, it is intriguing to note that this phenomenon is inhibited by treatment with glucocorticoids (28), an effect that may be related to our observation that urinary DNA is rapidly reduced following antirejection treatment. A third mechanism whereby increased urinary cell-free DNA is observed in association with graft rejection may be related to alteration in glomerular permselectivity (29), thus allowing plasma DNA to be filtered into the glomerular filtrate. The future recruitment and analysis of urinary cell-free DNA from female renal transplant recipients who have received organs from male donors and who are undergoing acute rejection may yield valuable information on the origin of the rise in urinary DNA during a rejection episode.
Our data highlight the existence of a previously unknown type of chimerism, namely urinary DNA chimerism, following renal transplantation and opens up a new field of investigation. However, much remains to be learned regarding the biologic factors governing this phenomenon. For example, additional work will be needed to document the intra- and interindividual variations in cell-free urinary DNA to define reference intervals for distinguishing normality and pathology. In this report, we have presented one example of a quantitative aberration in cell-free urinary DNA, namely, during an acute rejection episode. It is possible that other disorders may also produce an increase in urinary cell-free DNA, e.g., graft infection following renal transplantation. It remains to be demonstrated whether quantitative or temporal differences may be seen in the urinary DNA profiles between the various disorders that may affect renal transplant patients. Future prospective studies will be necessary to answer these questions and may ultimately allow us to use urinary DNA analysis as a powerful noninvasive tool for clinical monitoring and research.
| Acknowledgments |
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| References |
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