Neosynthesized IgG detected by Western blotting in Toxoplasma-seropositive heart or lung transplant recipients

• Published in: Transplant international 2000, Vol.13 (6), p.448-452
• Main Authors: ROBERT-GANGNEUX, Florence, AMREIN, Christine, LAVARDE, Veronique, BOTTEREL, Francoise, DUPOUY-CAMET, Jean
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Aged; Antibodies, Protozoan - biosynthesis; Antibodies, Protozoan - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Blotting, Western; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Fatal Outcome; Female; Heart - parasitology; Heart Transplantation - adverse effects; Heart Transplantation - immunology; Humans; Immunoglobulin G - biosynthesis; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Liver Transplantation; Lung - parasitology; Lung Transplantation - adverse effects; Lung Transplantation - immunology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Postoperative Complications - immunology; Risk; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Surgery of the heart; Tissue Donors; Toxoplasma; Toxoplasmosis - blood; Toxoplasmosis - immunology; Toxoplasmosis - transmission
• ISSN: 0934-0874; 1432-2277
• DOI: 10.1007/s001470050728

Toxoplasmosis is a life-threatening disease in heart- or lung transplant recipients that can result either from the reactivation of a latent infection or from an organ-transmitted infection. The diagnosis of acute toxoplasmosis is easy in cases of seroconversion following a mismatch. However, when the recipient is Toxoplasma-seropositive before transplantation, usual serological techniques do not allow the differentiation between endogenous and organ-related reinfection. The aim of this study was to determine whether western blotting could contribute to this differentiation. Sequential sera from two heart- and one liver- and lung transplant patients whose anti-Toxoplasma antibody titers strongly increased after transplantation, were analyzed by western blotting. Neosynthesized IgG were observed on blots incubated with the sera from two patients who had received transplants from Toxoplasma-seropositive donors, whereas no neosynthesized IgG was detected on blots from the patient who had received a transplant from a Toxoplasma-seronegative donor. Our results suggest that the detection of neosynthesized IgG in the recipient may be related to the recognition of a new parasite strain possibly brought by the transplant from a Toxoplasma-seropositive donor.