Smoking, Alcohol Intake and Torque Teno Virus in Stable Kidney Transplant Recipients
Caecilia S. E. Doorenbos,
Jip Jonker,
Jiasi Hao,
Edmund J. Gore,
Daan Kremer,
Tim J. Knobbe,
Anoek A. E. de Joode,
Jan Stephan F. Sanders,
Olivier Thaunat,
Hubert G. M. Niesters,
Coretta C. Van Leer-Buter,
Stephan J. L. Bakker
Affiliations
Caecilia S. E. Doorenbos
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands
Jip Jonker
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands
Jiasi Hao
Department of Epidemiology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands
Edmund J. Gore
Department of Medical Microbiology, Division of Clinical Virology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands
Daan Kremer
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands
Tim J. Knobbe
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands
Anoek A. E. de Joode
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands
Jan Stephan F. Sanders
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands
Olivier Thaunat
Department of Transplantation Nephrology and Clinical Immunology Hospices Civils de Lyon, Claude Bernard Lyon I University, INSERM Unit 1111, 69003 Lyon, France
Hubert G. M. Niesters
Department of Medical Microbiology, Division of Clinical Virology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands
Coretta C. Van Leer-Buter
Department of Medical Microbiology, Division of Clinical Virology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands
Stephan J. L. Bakker
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands
Torque Teno Virus (TTV) is a non-pathogenic virus that is highly prevalent among kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). Its circulating load is associated with an immunological status in KTR and is considered a promising tool for guiding immunosuppression. To allow for optimal guidance, it is important to identify other determinants of TTV load. We aimed to investigate the potential association of smoking and alcohol intake with TTV load. For this cross-sectional study, serum TTV load was measured using PCR in stable kidney transplant recipients at ≥1 year after transplantation, and smoking status and alcohol intake were assessed through questionnaires and measurements of urinary cotinine and ethyl glucuronide. A total of 666 KTRs were included (57% male). A total of 549 KTR (82%) had a detectable TTV load (3.1 ± 1.5 log10 copies/mL). In KTR with a detectable TTV load, cyclosporin and tacrolimus use were positively associated with TTV load (St. β = 0.46, p p 20 g/day were negatively associated with TTV load (St. β = −0.40, p = 0.004 and St. β = −0.33, p = 0.009, respectively), independently of each other and of adjustment for age, sex, kidney function, time since transplantation and calcineurin inhibitor use. This strong association of smoking and alcohol intake with TTV suggests a need to account for the smoking status and alcohol intake when applying TTV guided immunosuppression in KTR.
