Associations Between Kidney Histopathologic Lesions and Incident Cardiovascular Disease in Adults With Chronic Kidney Disease.

Importance: Histologic lesions in the kidney may reflect or contribute to systemic processes that may lead to adverse cardiovascular events. Objective: To assess the association between kidney histopathologic lesion severity and the risk of incident major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Design, Setting, and Participants: This prospective observational cohort study included participants without a history of myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure from the Boston Kidney Biopsy Cohort recruited from 2 academic medical centers in Boston, Massachusetts. Data were collected from September 2006 and November 2018, and data were analyzed from March to November 2021. Exposures: Semiquantitative severity scores for kidney histopathologic lesions adjudicated by 2 kidney pathologists, a modified kidney pathology chronicity score, and primary clinicopathologic diagnostic categories. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was the composite of death or incident MACE, which included myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure hospitalization. All cardiovascular events were independently adjudicated by 2 investigators. Cox proportional hazards models estimated associations of histopathologic lesions and scores with cardiovascular events adjusted for demographic characteristics, clinical risk factors, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and proteinuria. Results: Of 597 included participants, 308 (51.6%) were women, and the mean (SD) age was 51 (17) years. The mean (SD) eGFR was 59 (37) mL/min per 1.73 m2, and the median (IQR) urine protein to creatinine ratio was 1.54 (0.39-3.95). The most common primary clinicopathologic diagnoses were lupus nephritis, IgA nephropathy, and diabetic nephropathy. Over a median (IQR) of 5.5 (3.3-8.7) years of follow-up, the composite of death or incident MACE occurred in 126 participants (37 per 1000 person-years). Compared with the reference group of individuals with proliferative glomerulonephritis, the risk of death or incident MACE was highest in individuals with nonproliferative glomerulopathy (hazard ratio [HR], 2.61; 95% CI, 1.30-5.22; P = .002), diabetic nephropathy (HR, 3.56; 95% CI, 1.62-7.83; P = .002), and kidney vascular diseases (HR, 2.86; 95% CI, 1.51-5.41; P = .001) in fully adjusted models. The presence of mesangial expansion (HR, 2.98; 95% CI, 1.08-8.30; P = .04) and arteriolar sclerosis (HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.03-2.72; P = .04) were associated with an increased risk of death or MACE. Compared with minimal chronicity, greater chronicity was significantly associated with an increased risk of death or MACE (severe: HR, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.06-5.87; P = .04; moderate: HR, 1.66; 95% CI, 0.74-3.75; P = .22; mild: HR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.01-4.89; P = .047) in fully adjusted models. Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, specific kidney histopathological findings were associated with increased risks of CVD events. These results provide potential insight into mechanisms of the heart-kidney relationship beyond those provided by eGFR and proteinuria.

DNA sequencing research group: 2006 general survey of DNA sequencing facilities.

Over the past few years, technological advances in automated DNA sequencing have had a profound effect on the nature of DNA sequencing laboratories. To characterize the changes occurring within DNA sequencing facilities, the DNA Sequencing Research Group conducted three previous studies, in 1998, 2000, and 2003. A new general survey has been designed and conducted by the DSRG to capture the current status of DNA sequencing facilities in all sectors. Included were questions regarding facility administration, pricing, instrumentation, technology, protocols, and operation. The results of the survey are presented here, accompanied by comparisons to the previous surveys. These comparisons formed a basis for the discussion of trends within the facilities in response to the dynamics of a changing technology.

Identification of optimal protocols for sequencing difficult templates: results of the 2008 ABRF DNA Sequencing Research Group difficult template study 2008.

The 2008 ABRF DNA Sequencing Research Group (DSRG) difficult template sequencing study was designed to identify a general set of guidelines that would constitute the best approaches for sequencing difficult templates. This was a continuation of previous DSRG difficult template studies performed in 1996, 1997, and 2003. The distinguishing factors in the present study were the number of DNA templates used, the number of different types of difficult regions tested, and the inclusion of a follow-up phase of the study to identify optimal protocols for each type of difficult template. DNA templates with associated sequencing primers were distributed to participating laboratories and each laboratory returned their sequencing results along with descriptions of the experimental conditions used. The data were analyzed and the best protocols were identified for each difficult template. This information was subsequently distributed to the participating laboratories for a second round of sequencing to evaluate the general applicability of the optimized protocols. The average improvements in sequencing results were 11% overall, with a range of -25% to +43% using the optimized protocols. The full results from this study are presented here and they demonstrate that general experimental protocols and common additives can be used to improve the sequencing success for many difficult templates.