83-P: AN ASSOCIATION OF ACTIVATING KIR RECEPTORS ON HIGHER CREATININE LEVELS IN RENAL ACUTE CELLULAR REJECTION

Abstract

Aim Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic lymphocytes which express killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) with an affinity to specific HLA class I molecules. NK cells have the ability to detect HLA mismatches in an allograft, which may contribute to acute cellular rejection (ACR) in solid organ transplantation. The aim of the study was to test whether the number of activating and inhibiting KIR of the recipient, respective to their matched HLA ligand in the donor, is correlated to renal outcome in patients exhibiting ACR. Methods A panel of renal deceased donor recipients (n=45) transplanted from 2009 to 2011 were selected for this study. Twenty two of the studied recipients were diagnosed with ACR. Twenty three of the recipients did not exhibit signs of ACR. All patients were further divided into two categories: those with high creatinine levels (>1.3mg/dl), and those with normal creatinine levels (⩽1.3mg/dl). Creatinine was used as an indicator of renal function. KIR genotyping was performed by PCR-SSP on all recipients and donors. The number of activating and inhibiting KIR in the recipient with matched HLA ligands in the donor were determined. Results No significance was shown between the numbers of activating or inhibitory KIR at high or normal creatinine levels in recipients without ACR compared to those with ACR. However, ACR patients with high creatinine levels were shown to express significantly more activating KIR than ACR patients with normal creatinine levels (p=0.011). Conclusions The results of this study indicate that ACR patients who experience reduced kidney function, designated by high creatinine levels, might be determined by the number of activating KIR with matched HLA ligands.