Primary cilia metaplasia in renal transplant biopsies with acute tubular injury.

Primary cilia are hair-like organelles singly distributed along the apical surface of proximal and distal nephron tubules as mechanosensors. The goal of this study was to use electron microscopy to systemically evaluate cilia changes in acute tubular injury (ATI) from both transplant and native renal biopsies. Three groups of cases were included: control group 1-native biopsies without major changes in renal tubules; study group 2-native biopsies with prominent ATI; and study group 3-renal transplant biopsies with prominent ATI (delayed renal function group).