COVID-19 outbreak in vaccinated patients from a haemodialysis unit: antibody titres as a marker of protection from infection.

Background: Patients on maintenance haemodialysis (HD) have an increased risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and a reduced response to vaccines. Data are needed to identify immune correlates of protection in this population.

Methods: Following a COVID-19 outbreak among vaccinated patients in a HD unit, clinical data and serological response to BNT162b2 vaccine were retrospectively recorded.

Renal diseases secondary to interferon-β treatment: a multicentre clinico-pathological study and systematic literature review.

Background: The spectrum of interferon-β (IFN-β)-associated nephropathy remains poorly described and the potential features of this uncommon association remain to be determined.

Methods: In this study we retrospectively analysed the clinical, laboratory, histological and therapeutic data of patients with biopsy-proven renal disease in a context of IFN-β treatment administered for at least 6 months.

Results: Eighteen patients (13 women, median age 48 years) with biopsy-proven renal disease occurring during IFN-β therapy were included.

Myosteatosis as an independent risk factor for mortality after kidney allograft transplantation: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Patients with end-stage renal disease may display both a loss of skeletal muscle mass and an increase in muscle fat deposits. We aimed to analyse the impact of low skeletal muscle mass index (SMI, surrogate marker of sarcopenia) and low muscle density (MD, surrogate marker of myosteatosis) on patient survival after kidney transplantation (KT).

Methods: In a retrospective cohort of 200 kidney transplant recipients (KTr), we measured on an unenhanced cross-sectional computed tomography scan taken at the level of the third lumbar vertebra within the previous year or at the time of KT, both SMI (muscle cross-sectional area normalized for height , reported in cm /m ) and MD (mean attenuation of muscle cross-sectional area, expressed in Hounsfield units).

Apheresis in Adult With Refractory Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome on Native Kidneys.

Background: Apheresis is the gold standard for idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) relapse after transplantation, but it remains unknown whether such treatment is useful for adults with refractory INS on native kidneys.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients older than 16 years with biopsy-proven refractory (persistent nephrotic syndrome on corticosteroids plus at least 1 immunosuppressive drug) INS treated by apheresis and followed for at least 3 months.

Results: Between September 1997 and January 2020, 21 patients (focal segmental glomerulosclerosis: 12, minimal change nephrotic syndrome: 9, men: 67%, median age: 34 years) were identified.

[COVID-19 vaccination in dialysis and kidney transplant patients].

Patients with end stage renal disease, including dialysis and kidney transplantation, have a high risk of severe COVID-19. In these populations, post-COVID-19 humoral response is prolonged until 6 months post-infection. However, post-vaccination humoral responses are frequently weak even when positive, notably in kidney transplant patients treated with belatacept.

Long-term health-related quality of life outcomes of adults with pediatric onset of frequently relapsing or steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome.

Background: Long-term psychosocial outcomes and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in adults with pediatric onset of frequently relapsing or steroid-dependent idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (FRNS or SDNS) remain to be determined.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 59 adults with pediatric onset of FRNS/SDNS and persistent active glomerular disease in adulthood completed the GEDEPAC-2 questionnaire exploring 11 well-being domains. Data were compared to the French general population (FGP) with standardized incidence ratio ([SIR]; adjusted for period, age, gender).

Impact of pre-eclampsia on renal outcome in sickle cell disease patients.

The long-term consequences of pre-eclampsia (PrE) for renal function have never been determined in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Between 2008 and 2015, we screened 306 pregnancies in women with SCD and identified 40 with PrE (13%). The control group consisted of 65 pregnant SCD patients without PrE.

HLA Desensitization in Solid Organ Transplantation: Anti-CD38 to Across the Immunological Barriers.

The presence of anti-human leucocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies in the potential solid organ transplant recipient's blood is one of the main barriers to access to a transplantation. The HLA sensitization is associated with longer waitlist time, antibody mediated rejection and transplant lost leading to increased recipient's morbidity and mortality. However, solid organ transplantation across the HLA immunological barriers have been reported in recipients who were highly sensitized to HLA using desensitization protocols.

Renal Diseases Associated with Hematologic Malignancies and Thymoma in the Absence of Renal Monoclonal Immunoglobulin Deposits.

In addition to kidney diseases characterized by the precipitation and deposition of overproduced monoclonal immunoglobulin and kidney damage due to chemotherapy agents, a broad spectrum of renal lesions may be found in patients with hematologic malignancies. Glomerular diseases, in the form of paraneoplastic glomerulopathies and acute kidney injury with various degrees of proteinuria due to specific lymphomatous interstitial and/or glomerular infiltration, are two major renal complications observed in the lymphoid disorder setting. However, other hematologic neoplasms, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, thymoma, myeloproliferative disorders, Castleman disease and hemophagocytic syndrome, have also been associated with the development of kidney lesions.

Kinetics of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibodies in Hemodialysis Patients Six Months after Infection.

Background: The humoral response against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the hemodialysis population, including its dynamics over time, remains poorly understood.

Methods: To analyze initial and long-term humoral responses against SARS-CoV-2 in a hemodialysis population, we retrospectively evaluated findings from SARS-CoV-2 IgG serologic assays targeting the nucleocapsid antigen or spike antigen up to 6 months of follow-up in patients on hemodialysis in the Paris, France, region who had recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Results: Our analysis included 83 patients (median age 65 years); 59 (71%) were male and 28 (34%) had presented with severe COVID-19.

Circulating plasmablasts and high level of BAFF are hallmarks of minimal change nephrotic syndrome in adults.

Background: The recent success achieved with the use of B cell-depleting agents in some patients with minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) suggests an unexpected role for B lymphocytes in the pathogenesis of this immune-mediated glomerular disease. Nevertheless, no extensive B-cell phenotyping analysis has ever been performed in untreated adult patients soon after MCNS diagnosis.

Methods: We investigated the distribution of the different B-cell subpopulations in 22 untreated adult patients with biopsy-proven MCNS [MCNS relapse (MCNS-Rel)].

De Novo Focal and Segmental Glomerulosclerosis After COVID-19 in a Patient With a Transplanted Kidney From a Donor With a High-risk APOL1 Variant.

Background: There is compelling evidence that renal complications in a native kidney are a major concern in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the causal agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The spectrum of renal lesions observed on renal grafts in this context remains to be determined.

Methods: We report the case of a renal transplant recipient with non-severe COVID-19, who subsequently developed nephrotic syndrome associated with acute renal injury.