Causes of Positive Pretransplant Crossmatches in the Absence of Donor-Specific Anti-Human Leukocyte Antigen Antibodies: A Single-Center Experience
10.3343/alm.2021.41.4.429
- Author:
Hyunhye KANG
1
;
Jaeeun YOO
;
Sang-Yoon LEE
;
Eun-Jee OH
Author Information
1. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
- Publication Type:Brief Communication
- From:Annals of Laboratory Medicine
2021;41(4):429-435
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Pretransplant crossmatch (XM) testing is widely used for detecting preformed donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) against human leukocyte antigen (HLA). However, in some cases, there is a positive XM result in the absence of HLA-DSAs, the cause of which was rarely identified. We reviewed the causes of sequential positive XM results at a single center and analyzed the presence of non-HLA antibodies in patients with an unexplained positive pretransplant XM result. Among 251 patients with T-cell/B-cell complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) or flow cytometric crossmatch (FCXM) positivity, HLA-DSAs were confirmed in 88 (35.1%) by a single antigen bead (SAB) assay, 150 (59.8%) used rituximab (anti-CD20), and 13 (5.2%) had neither HLA-DSAs nor a desensitization history. Anti-angiotensin II type 1 receptor IgG and 33 non-HLA antibodies were tested in the 13 patients with an unexplained positive pretransplant XM result, and more than one non-HLA antibody were revealed in all these patients; 11 patients had non-HLA antibodies reported to be associated with graft rejection, and two patients experienced rejection episode after kidney transplantation. Our study suggests considering non-HLA antibodies testing when a CDC or FCXM test is positive without a definite cause. Assessing non-HLA antibodies might be useful for interpreting XM results and evaluating immunologic risk in transplant recipients.
