Argentine research: Mysterious virus could help predict (and prevent) complications in kidney transplant recipients

A common virus, present in more than 80% of the global population and largely asymptomatic, is emerging as a potential key to predicting complications in kidney transplant patients. Researchers in Argentina have demonstrated that the level of Torque teno virus (TTV) in a patient's blood can forecast the likelihood of graft rejection or infection, two major challenges in organ transplantation.

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The TTV is not associated with any disease and is the most prevalent in the human virome. We can precisely use it as a biomarker of immunity due to its high prevalence.

The study, conducted by a team at the Hospital Universitario Cemic, focused on kidney transplant recipients, as kidney transplants account for over 60% of organ transplants in Argentina. Their findings suggest that TTV can serve as an "immune system sensor." In kidney transplant patients, the virus was detected in 100% of cases after the transplant.

Noelia Reyes, the lead author and researcher at Cemic-Conicet, explained that TTV is the most prevalent virus in the human virome and is not associated with any disease. "We can precisely use it as a biomarker of immunity due to its high prevalence," she stated. The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Virology, indicated that some patients experienced a peak in viral load during periods of maximum immunosuppression, which later became undetectable.

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We always believed that blood was completely sterile, and it is not. We have TTV, which is one of the most prevalent, and it does not cause disease.

Marcela Echavarría, head of the Virology Unit at Cemic-Conicet and co-author, highlighted the significance of the findings. "We always believed that blood was completely sterile, and it is not. We have TTV, which is one of the most prevalent, and it does not cause disease," she noted. Echavarría added that approximately 30% of kidney transplant patients face organ rejection or loss, often due to fluctuations in immunosuppression levels. The ability to predict these outcomes could allow for personalized adjustments to immunosuppressive therapy, potentially preventing transplant failure.

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Approximately 30% of kidney transplant patients can reject the organ or, worse, lose it. If immunosuppression increases or decreases too much, those possibilities can occur. That is, the transplant failed. Being able to predict it is important because immunosuppression can be corrected in a personalized way to avoid it.