Preoperative Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy Improves Weight Loss Potential in Morbidly Obese Voluntary Kidney Donors.

Background: This was a retrospective study aimed at evaluating the efficacy of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) as a strategy for weight loss in obese prospective voluntary kidney donors who were unable to achieve weight reduction through lifestyle changes.

Methods: This retrospective study included living kidney donors who underwent LSG as a strategy for weight loss in obese prospective voluntary kidney donors between 2012 and 2022. Prospective donors who were initially rejected due to obesity underwent LSG after pretransplantation evaluation.

Collectrin ( deficiency in proximal tubules causes hypertension in mice and a variant associates with blood pressure in males in a Latino cohort.

Collectrin (), an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 homologue, is a chaperone of amino acid transporters in the kidney and endothelium. Global collectrin knockout (KO) mice have hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, exaggerated salt sensitivity, and diminished renal blood flow. This phenotype is associated with altered nitric oxide and superoxide balance and increased proximal tubule (PT) Na/H exchanger isoform 3 (NHE3) expression.

Low-dose Rituximab and Thymoglobulin Induction With Steroid-free Maintenance Immunosuppression and Protocol Biopsies Improves Long-term Patient and Graft Survival After Kidney Transplantation: Survival and Safety Outcomes in More Than 1100 Patients From a Single Center.

Background: Steroid-free maintenance immunosuppression after kidney transplantation provides acceptable patient and graft survival and minimizes steroid-associated side effects among recipients with a low immunological risk. However, the long-term outcomes of such protocols, incorporating low-dose rituximab and thymoglobulin induction along with protocol biopsies, in non-European populations remains underreported.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 1142 consecutive kidney transplantations conducted at our center from July 2005 to October 2017.

Renal Collectrin Protects against Salt-Sensitive Hypertension and Is Downregulated by Angiotensin II.

Collectrin, encoded by the gene, is a transmembrane glycoprotein with approximately 50% homology with angiotensin converting enzyme 2, but without a catalytic domain. Collectrin is most abundantly expressed in the kidney proximal tubule and collecting duct epithelia, where it has an important role in amino acid transport. Collectrin is also expressed in endothelial cells throughout the vasculature, where it regulates L-arginine uptake.

Combined Effects of GSTM1 Null Allele and APOL1 Renal Risk Alleles in CKD Progression in the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension Trial.

Apolipoprotein L-1 (APOL1) high-risk alleles and the glutathione-S-transferase-μ1 (GSTM1) null allele have been shown separately to associate with CKD progression in the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) trial participants. Here, we determined combined effects of GSTM1 null and APOL1 high-risk alleles on clinical outcomes in 682 AASK participants who were classified into four groups by GSTM1 null or active genotype and APOL1 high- or low-risk genotype. We assessed survival differences among these groups by log-rank test and Cox regression adjusted for important clinical variables for time to GFR event (change in GFR of 50% or 25-ml/min per 1.

A20--a biomarker of allograft outcome: a showcase in kidney transplantation.

Effective means to identify anti-donor immune activity before the transplant organ is damaged and rejected has been an important goal in transplantation research. Development of sensitive and non-invasive diagnostic methods that probe the immune status of the recipient as well as the resilience of the donor organ should enable personalized application of immunosuppressive drugs. With a non-invasive biomarker for rejection, it should be possible to selectively treat the patients that are rejecting the graft and wean the tolerant patients from immunosuppression.

Gene expression profiling of the donor kidney at the time of transplantation predicts clinical outcomes 2 years after transplantation.

We have previously demonstrated that biomarkers of inflammation and immune activity detected within intraoperative renal transplant allograft biopsies are linked to adverse short-term post-transplantation clinical outcomes. Now we provide a post hoc analysis of our earlier data in the light of longer clinical follow-up. A total of 75 consecutively performed renal allografts were analyzed for gene expression of proinflammatory molecules, inflammation-induced adhesion molecules, and antiapoptotic genes expressed 15 minutes after vascular reperfusion to determine whether this analysis can aid in predicting long-term quality of renal function, proteinuria, graft loss, and death-censored graft.

Electrolyte-free water clearance: a key to the diagnosis of hypernatremia in resolving acute renal failure.

Hypernatremia usually results from the loss of water from the body in excess of loss of electrolytes. Although urinary loss of free water is usually thought of when the urine is dilute, it can also occur when the urine is relatively concentrated, for example after administration of osmotic diuretics. We present a case of hypernatremia in the setting of resolving acute renal failure.