Primary graft dysfunction occurs in up to 25% of patients after lung transplantation. Contributing factors include ventilator-induced lung injury, cardiopulmonary bypass, ischaemia-reperfusion injury and excessive fluid administration. We evaluated the feasibility, safety and efficacy of an open-lung protective ventilation strategy aimed at reducing ventilator-induced lung injury. We enrolled adult patients scheduled to undergo bilateral sequential lung transplantation, and randomly assigned them to either a control group (volume-controlled ventilation with 5 cmH O, positive end-expiratory pressure, low tidal volumes (two-lung ventilation 6 ml.kg , one-lung ventilation 4 ml.kg )) or an alveolar recruitment group (regular step-wise positive end-expiratory pressure-based alveolar recruitment manoeuvres, pressure-controlled ventilation set at 16 cmH O with 10 cmH O positive end-expiratory pressure). Ventilation strategies were commenced from reperfusion of the first lung allograft and continued for the duration of surgery. Regular PaO /F O ratios were calculated and venous blood samples collected for inflammatory marker evaluation during the procedure and for the first 24 h of intensive care stay. The primary end-point was the PaO /F O ratio at 24 h after first lung reperfusion. Thirty adult patients were studied. The primary outcome was not different between groups (mean (SD) PaO /F O ratio control group 340 (111) vs. alveolar recruitment group 404 (153); adjusted p = 0.26). Patients in the control group had poorer mean (SD) PaO /F O ratios at the end of the surgical procedure and a longer median (IQR [range]) time to tracheal extubation compared with the alveolar recruitment group (308 (144) vs. 402 (154) (p = 0.03) and 18 (10-27 [5-468]) h vs. 15 (11-36 [5-115]) h (p = 0.01), respectively). An open-lung protective ventilation strategy during surgery for lung transplantation is feasible, safe and achieves favourable ventilation parameters.

Measurement of NK cell cytolytic activity in the setting of chronic viral infection is important for determining viral pathogenicity. Mobilization of LAMP-1 (CD107a) to the NK cell surface is a surrogate marker for cytotoxic granule release and hence, NK cell cytotoxicity. We have developed a convenient, rapid, whole blood flow cytometric assay for measuring CD107a mobilization in response to CD16 cross-linking, a surrogate for NK cell ADCC activity ex vivo, which can be performed using small volumes of patient whole blood. Using this assay, we show that CD107a mobilization, in response to CD16 cross-linking, is triggered in CD56(dim) but not CD56(bright) NK cells, requiring Syk/Zap70 tyrosine kinase activity, and that there is a significant correlation between CD107a mobilization and pSyk/Zap70 in response to CD16 cross-linking. We compared whole blood from treatment-naïve, HIV-infected patients with age- and sex-matched HIV-uninfected control subjects and found a significant reduction in CD16-dependent pSyk/Zap70 (median=32.7% compared with 67.8%; P=0.0002) and CD107a mobilization (median=9.72% compared with 32.9%; P=0.046) in NK cells. Reduction of both correlated strongly with reduced CD16 surface expression on NK cells of HIV-infected individuals (P<0.01). These data suggest that ADCC is inhibited in NK cells from therapy-naïve, HIV-infected individuals at the level of early events in CD16 signal transduction, associated with low CD16R expression, and our method is a useful and reliable tool to detect pathological defects in NK cell degranulation.

Human Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation continues to influence lung transplant outcomes. Cross-reactivity of anti-viral memory T cells against donor human leukocyte antigens (HLA) may be a contributing factor. We identified cross-reactive HLA-A*02:01-restricted CMV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) co-recognizing the NLVPMVATV (NLV) epitope and HLA-B27. NLV-specific CD8+ T cells were expanded for 13 days from 14 HLA-A*02:01/CMV seropositive healthy donors and 11 lung transplant recipients (LTR) then assessed for the production of IFN-γ and CD107a expression in response to 19 cell lines expressing either single HLA-A or -B class I molecules. In one healthy individual, we observed functional and proliferative cross-reactivity in response to B*27:05 alloantigen, representing approximately 5% of the NLV-specific CTL population. Similar patterns were also observed in one LTR receiving a B27 allograft, revealing that the cross-reactive NLV-specific CTL gradually increased (days 13–193 post-transplant) before a CMV reactivation event (day 270) and reduced to basal levels following viral clearance (day 909). Lung function remained stable with no acute rejection episodes being reported up to 3 years post-transplant. Individualized immunological monitoring of cross-reactive anti-viral T cells will provide further insights into their effects on the allograft and an opportunity to predict sub-clinical CMV reactivation events and immunopathological complications.