Secreted Wnt antagonists during eradication of cytomegalovirus infection in solid organ transplant recipients
T Ueland, H Rollag, A Hartmann, A G Jardine, A Humar, A E Michelsen, A A Bignamini, A Åsberg, P Aukrust, T Ueland, H Rollag, A Hartmann, A G Jardine, A Humar, A E Michelsen, A A Bignamini, A Åsberg, P Aukrust
Abstract
We evaluated secreted wingless (Wnt) modulators during cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTr). The major findings were: (i) Plasma levels of Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) were significantly lower in patients with CMV DNAemia above lower level of quantification at baseline. (ii) Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that low DKK-1 and increased secreted frizzled related protein-3 levels were predictors of poor virological outcomes during follow-up. Our findings demonstrate an imbalanced pattern of circulating secreted Wnt modulators in SOTr with poor virological outcomes following treatment for CMV disease, and may suggest a role for dysregulated Wnt signaling on viral pathogenesis during CMV infection.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00431353.
Keywords: CMV infection; Wnt signaling; solid organ transplant recipients; virological outcome.
© Copyright 2013 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.
Source: PubMed