Capillary deposition of the complement fragment C4d in cardiac allograft biopsies is associated with allograft vasculopathy

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a long-term threat in heart transplant recipients and its exact pathogenesis remains to be established. As complement activation contributes to early and late allograft dysfunction, we hypothesized that deposition of the complement fragment, C4d, in capillaries of cardiac allograft biopsies may be associated with CAV. A polyclonal anti-C4d antibody was used for immunohistochemistry on endomyocardial biopsies obtained from heart transplant recipients during the first year post-transplantation. CAV was assessed by intracoronary ultrasound performed at 1-year post-transplantation. We were able to show that CAV is highly associated with C4d deposition in capillaries of cardiac allografts and that serial C4d studies may predict development of CAV at 1-year post-transplantation.