Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42258753›Full record

ArticleJCI insight2026

Benchmarking urinary cell transcriptomes for noninvasive differentiation of BK polyomavirus-associated nephropathy from T cell-mediated rejection.

Franco B Mueller, Carol Li, Darshana M Dadhania, Surya V Seshan, Thalia Salinas, Vijay K Sharma, Jenny Z Xiang, Hans H Hirsch, Thangamani Muthukumar, Manikkam Suthanthiran

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JCI insight, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Franco B MuellerDivision of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
Carol LiDivision of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
Darshana M DadhaniaDivision of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
Surya V SeshanDivision of Renal Pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
Thalia SalinasDivision of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
Vijay K SharmaDivision of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
Jenny Z XiangGenomics Resources Core Facility, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA.
Hans H HirschTransplantation and Clinical Virology, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Thangamani MuthukumarDivision of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
Manikkam SuthanthiranDivision of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BK polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (BKVN) adversely impacts kidney allograft survival and often mimics acute T cell-mediated rejection (TCMR), confounding diagnosis and management. To address this conundrum, we performed unbiased RNA sequencing of urinary cells matched to biopsies classified as BKVN with intragraft inflammation (BKVN-P), BKVN without inflammation (BKVN-N), TCMR, or no rejection (NR). BKVN-N displayed dominant host DNA replication, cell cycle, and repair programs, while BKVN-P samples exhibited expansive innate immune activation, antigen presentation, chemokine upregulation, and epithelial injury. Both BKVN subtypes shared signatures of T cell exhaustion and mature and tolerogenic dendritic cell activation but differed in immune orientation - Th1 predominance in BKVN-N versus Treg and CD8 enrichment in BKVN-P. Compared with TCMR samples, BKVN-P lacked robust TCR/CD28 signaling and was enriched for viral and innate modules; BKVN-N lacked alloimmune activation. B cell exhaustion characterized BKVN-N, while BKVN-P displayed robust B cell activation with metabolic downregulation. A ratiometric urinary cell biomarker, CXCL10 mRNA/CD3E mRNA, distinguished both BKVN subtypes from TCMR with diagnostic accuracy, replicated by quantitative reverse transcription PCR for clinical translation, and confirmed in an independent cohort. These findings demonstrate the utility of urinary cell transcriptomics for resolving viral injury from alloimmunity, enabling precision diagnostics and targeted immunomodulation in kidney transplantation.

Indexed as

BK VirusGraft RejectionKidney DiseasesPolyomavirus InfectionsT-LymphocytesTranscriptomeTumor Virus InfectionsAdultFemaleHumansKidney TransplantationMaleMiddle AgedT-Cell ExhaustionImmunologyNephrologyT cellsTranscriptomicsTransplantation

Identifiers

PMID42258753
PMCPMC13313547

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.