Comparison of serum monocide chemoattractant protein levels with immunosuppressive therapy protocols in patients with renal transplantation.

Abstract

Renal transplantation stands out with lower cost advantages in life expectancy, quality of life and especially in the long-term perspective compared to dialysis. Having significant side effects of immunosuppressive drugs in terms of patient and graft survival limits the use of these drugs. A variety of markers are being explored to prolong the renal graft life. One of these molecules, monocide chemoattractant protein (MCP-1) is a marker involved in renal inflammation. The production of MCP-1 was blocked in kidney diseases and the disease was improved. Along with these promising developments, we decided to investigate whether there is a significant relationship between immunosuppressive therapies used in renal transplantation therapy and serum MCP-1 levels. Our study was performed in 80 patients who underwent kidney transplantation followed in Haydarpaşa Numune Training and Research Hospital. These 80 patients were examined in 4 groups as Group 1 (cyclosporin), Group 2 (tacrolimus), Group 3 (sirolimus) and Group 4 (everolimus). Serum MCP-1 levels were compared between the groups by using ELISA method. In our study, serum MCP-1 levels were significantly higher in cyclosporine and tacrolimus groups than in sirolimus (p<0.05). When calcineurin inhibitors and everolimus were compared, it was not statistically significant, although calcineurin inhibitors were higher. Understanding the role of MCP-1 in monocyte homeostasis and the effects of MCP-1 inhibition in kidney disease will help to design better diagnostic and treatment strategies in patients with inflammatory kidney disease (Tab. 2, Fig. 7, Ref. 45).