Núñez Fernández, LucíaMarrón Liñares, Grecia ManuelaCrespo-Leiro, María GenerosaBarge-Caballero, EduardoÁlvarez López, EloySuárez-Fuentetaja, NataliaPaniagua-Martín, María J.Pombo-Otero, JorgeMuñiz, JavierTan, Carmela D.Rodríguez, E. RenéVázquez Rodríguez, José Manuel2019-10-212019-10-212019-07-23Núñez L, Marrón-Liñares GM, Crespo-Leiro MG et al. AGT haplotype in ITGA4 gene is related to antibody-mediated rejection in heart transplant patients. PloS One. 2019; 14(7):e0219345.1932-6203http://hdl.handle.net/2183/24161[Abstract] Introduction. One of the main problems involved in heart transplantation (HT) is antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). Many aspects of AMR are still unresolved, including its etiology, diagnosis and treatment. In this project, we hypothesize that variants in genes involved in B-cell biology in HT patients can yield diagnostic and prognostic information about AMR. Methods. Genetic variants in 61 genes related to B-cell biology were analyzed by next generation sequencing in 46 HT patients, 23 with and 23 without AMR. Results. We identified 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms in ITGA4 gene (c.1845G>A, c.2633A>G, and c.2883C>T) that conformed the haplotype AGT-ITGA4. This haplotype is associated with the development of AMR. Moreover, AMR patients with the haplotype AGT-ITGA4 present lower levels of integrin α-4 in serum samples compared to the reference GAC haplotype in control patients. Conclusion. We can conclude that polymorphisms in genes related to the biology of B-cells could have an important role in the development of AMR. In fact, the AGT haplotype in ITGA4 gene could potentially increase the risk of AMR.engAtribución 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/journal articleopen access10.1371/journal.pone.0219345