Assessment of IgM DSAs in Transplant Recipients: Relationship to De Novo IgG DSAs and Risk for Antibody Rejection

Abstract

Background. The presence of anti-HLA donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) is associated with antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) and inferior graft survival. However, recent data suggest that ~50% of AMR episodes are IgG DSA negative and possibly related to non-HLA DSAs. After the initial activation of B cells to alloantigen, IgM is the first immunoglobulin produced. In addition, both IgM and IgG isotopes can activate the classic complement pathway and induce complement-dependent cytotoxicity to allograft targets. Current practices focus on the assessment of IgG DSAs with little concern for the assessment of IgM DSAs. Methods. Here, we examined anti-HLA IgM in a cohort of 22 patients who developed de novo IgG DSAs by a modified single-antigen bead-based test. Results. We found IgM HLA DSAs developed before IgG DSAs. The median time from the detection of IgM DSAs to the appearance of de novo IgG DSAs was 461 d. Most patients had IgM DSAs against the same HLA-DQ antigens, for which IgG de novo DSAs were also later detected. IgM DSAs were detected in patients with biopsies suspected of AMR. Conclusions. The detection of IgM DSAs could be an early indicator of alloimmune responses to allografts before IgG de novo DSAs appear.