Association between urinary adiponectin level and renal involvement in systemic lupus erythematous.

AIM: To assess association between urinary levels of adiponectin and severity of renal involvement in SLE patients. Also, this study aims to determine the value of urinary adiponectin levels to discriminate renal involvement in these patients. METHODS: In a multi-center cross-sectional survey, 50 consecutive patients diagnosed as having systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) according to American College of Rheumatology criteria were classified into two groups with or without renal involvement (microscopic hematuria, reduced glomerular filtration rate < 25% of normal value, and proteinuria > 500 mg/24 h) which was confirmed by renal biopsy. Urinary adiponectin was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. SLE disease activity levels were assessed by SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) score. RESULTS: Comparing urinary levels of adiponectin between the two groups indicated considerable discrepancy in this index between the groups with and without renal involvement (146.33 ± 258.83 ng/mL vs. 22.96 ± 44.33 ng/mL, P = 0.023). Also, urinary adiponectin/creatinine ratio was significantly higher in the former group (221.72 ± 414.58 vs. 19.99 ± 41.19, P = 0.019). Our study showed a higher mean SLEDAI score in those with renal involvement than others (23.60 ± 2.53 vs. 9.12 ± 3.03, P < 0.001). Multivariable linear regression analysis with the presence of potential confounders showed that the level of urinary adiponectin was significantly higher in those with renal involvement than other patients (ß = 0.470, P = 0.023). The optimal cut-off point for urinary adiponectin levels to discriminate renal involvement from normal renal state was 7.5 ng/mL, yielding a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 52%. CONCLUSION: Urinary levels of adiponectin are significantly elevated in SLE patients with renal involvement. The measurement of this biomarker can be helpful to discriminate impaired from normal renal function in SLE patients.

Relation between pretransplant serum levels of soluble CD30 and acute rejection during the first 6 months after a kidney transplant.

OBJECTIVES: The immunologic status of kidney allograft recipients affects transplant outcome. High levels of pretransplant serum soluble CD30 correlate with an increased risk of acute rejection. Studies show conflicting results. We evaluated the relation between pretransplant serum sCD30 levels with the risk of posttransplant acute kidney rejection in renal transplant recipients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective cohort study was performed between March 2010 and March 2011 on 77 kidney transplant recipients (53 men [68.8%], 24 women [31.2%]; mean age, 41 ± 14 y). Serum samples were collected 24 hours before transplant and analyzed for soluble CD30 levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Patients were followed for 6 months after transplant. Acute biopsy-proven rejection episodes were recorded, serum creatinine levels were measured, and glomerular filtration rates were calculated at the first and sixth months after transplant. Preoperative serum soluble CD30 levels were compared in patients with and without rejection. RESULTS: The mean pretransplant serum soluble CD30 level was 92.1 ± 47.3 ng/mL. At 6 months' follow-up, 10 patients experienced acute rejection. Mean pretransplant soluble CD30 levels were 128.5 ± 84 ng/mL versus 86.7 ± 37 ng/mL in patients with and without acute rejection episodes (P = .008). At 100 ng/mL, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of pretransplant serum soluble CD30 level to predict acute rejection were 70%, 73.6%, 29.1%, and 94.3%. CONCLUSIONS: We showed a significant relation between pretransplant serum soluble CD30 levels and acute allograft rejection. High pretransplant levels of serum soluble CD30 can be a risk factor for kidney transplant rejection, and its high negative predictive value at various cutoffs make it useful to find candidates with a low risk of acute rejection after transplant.

Renal biopsy findings in Iran: case series report from a referral kidney center.

BACKGROUND: Several registries and single centers have reported the results of their renal biopsies from different parts of the world. As there are only few data regarding the epidemiology of glomerulonephritides in Iran, this study was conducted to determine the results of renal biopsy findings during the last 10 years in our center. METHODS: Data from 1,436 patients who had undergone a renal biopsy in our center between 1998 and 2007 were collected retrospectively for the first 989 patients and prospectively for the rest of them, including demographic data, renal syndrome at presentation and laboratory findings. All kidney specimens were studied with light and immunofluorescent microscopies. RESULTS: Among 1,407 patients with a definite pathologic diagnosis, 1,052 (74.8%) had a primary glomerular disease, 241 (17.2%) had a secondary glomerular disease, 66 (4.6%) had tubular disease, 19 (1.3%) had vascular disease and 7 (0.5%) had end-stage kidney disease. The most frequent types of biopsy-proven renal diseases were membranous glomerulopathy (MG) (377 patients, 26.8%), IgA nephropathy (IgAN) (155 patients, 11%), lupus nephritis (155 patients, 11%), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (141 patients, 10%) and minimal change disease (117 patients, 8.3%). The predominant presentation was nephrotic syndrome in almost all cases, with the exception of chronic glomerulonephritis, acute tubular necrosis and acute tubulointerstitial nephritis. The epidemiology of our renal biopsy findings was similar to reports from most European countries and United Arab Emirates, but different from many other neighboring countries, North America and Far East. CONCLUSIONS: In our report of 1,407 renal biopsy specimens, MG and IgAN were the most frequent biopsy-proven renal diseases. FSGS was the third cause of primary glomerular disease, and lupus nephritis was the most common secondary glomerular disease. The unusually high frequency of presentation as nephrotic syndrome may be due to referral nature of our center and less liberal indications for renal biopsy.