Transcriptomic profiling of cytomegalovirus infection in cardiac transplantation: proof-of-concept for a new strategy in tissue markers application

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a relevant threat to heart transplanted patients during the first year after surgery, leading to increased morbidity and, in some cases, mortality. This proof-of-concept study aims to assess the transcriptomic profile of CMV infection in cardiac transplanted patients as a new diagnostic approach to discriminate infection and Acute Cellular Rejection (ACR) on EMB specimens. We performed a microarray-based messenger RNA (mRNA) and micro-RNA (miRNA) profiling using high-density Clariom S Affymetrix GeneChip arrays (Thermofisher Scientific, USA) and miRNA 4.0 chips and FlashTagTM Biotin HSR RNA Labeling Kit (Thermofisher Scientific, USA). We analyzed three patient groups in the setting of CMV viremia and inflammatory infiltrate: a control group (n=5), an ACR group (n=5), and an infection group (n=6).