3.1 Detection of UL21.5 mRNA during DNAemia episodes.
Peak levels of WB and PL DNAemia in patients requiring pre-emptive therapy or showing self-resolving transient DNAemia are shown in Table 1 and Figure 1B. UL21.5 mRNA was detected in plasma 1-2 weeks before administration of pre-emptive therapy in all the 20 episodes of clinically significant DNAemia (Table 1 and Figure 1A), whereas it was undetectable in 3 of the 4 patients with transient self-resolving DNAemia (the only positive patient showed very low UL21.5 mRNA level below the limit of quantification). The median kinetics of WB and PL DNAemia and of UL21.5 mRNA (in plasma) in the 20 episodes of clinically significant DNAemia is shown in Fig 1B. UL21.5 mRNA was detected about two weeks after WB DNAemia appearance, and, during pre-emptive therapy, it was cleared earlier than WB DNAmia. After start of treatment, median time to UL21.5 mRNA clearance was 16 days, whereas median time to WB DNAemia and PL DNAemia was 36 days (Fig. 1C).