Investigation of Torque Teno Virus Loads as a Marker of Immunosuppression in Pediatric Chronic Renal Failure: A Pilot Study

Background

Torque Teno Virus (TTV), family Anelloviridae, is a small, non-enveloped, single-stranded DNA virus that has not been linked with any specific human illness but nevertheless constitutes a major component of the human virome. An association between TTV loads and the immune status of the host with reference to other viral infections, immunosuppression therapy, and acute rejection is reported in adult and pediatric kidney transplant recipients. We sought to investigate the feasibility of TTV as a surrogate marker of the degree of immunosuppression in pediatric kidney transplant patients.