Abstract
We determined the association between CD14++CD16+ monocytes and subclinical infiltrates that do not reach the histological threshold for rejection (≥Banff IA). We studied low-immunological-risk kidney-transplant recipients in a clinical trial (NCT02284464; EudraCT 2012-003298-24) whose protocol biopsy in the third month showed no significant changes or borderline lesions (BL). Flow cytometry was used to analyze the percentage of CD14++CD16+ monocytes in peripheral blood (PB) and blood from a fine-needle-aspiration biopsy (FNAB). A protocol biopsy was performed in 81 low-immunological-risk patients, of whom 15 were excluded (BK polyomavirus and rejection). The 28 (42.4%) with borderline lesions had significantly low levels of CD14++CD16+ in PB compared to patients with normal biopsies (7.9 ± 5.4 vs. 13.0 ± 12.8; p = 0.047). Patients without significant changes had similar percentages of CD14++CD16+ monocytes in the graft blood (GB) and FNAB blood. The percentage of these monocytes in the patients with an interstitial infiltrate, however, increased significantly in the FNAB blood compared to the GB: 16.9 ± 16.6 vs. 7.9 ± 5.4; p = 0.006. A difference of 50% in CD14++CD16+ in the GB versus the PB was a significant risk factor (p = 0.002) for BL, increasing the risk seven times. A decrease in CD14++CD16+ in the PB could be associated with the recruitment of these cells to the graft tissue in cases of subclinical BL inflammatory infiltrates below the threshold for rejection.