T-cells immune response controls the high incidence of adenovirus infection in adult allogenic hematopoietic transplantation recipients

Abstract

Human adenovirus (HAdV) can produce disseminated disease with high mortality in pediatric allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) recipients. In adult recipients, prospective studies addressing the incidence of HAdV infection and disease are lacking. The aim of this study was to characterize the kinetics of HAdV replication, the specific T-cell immune response, and the clinical impact of HAdV infection in adult allo- HSCT recipients. We found a high incidence of HAdV viremia, which was controlled by the T-cell immune response and without association with disseminated HAdV disease. Therefore, these data argue against the pre-emptive therapy for HAdV infection in adult allo- HSCT recipients.