BACKGROUND: Acute rejection (AR) after renal transplantation affects both patient and graft survival. There is growing evidence of the genetic association between cytokine or its receptor antagonist and AR in solid organ transplantation. The objectives of this study were to investigate the role of recipient TNF β, IL-10, IL-1β, and IL-1 receptor antagonist (ra) gene polymorphism, as well as traditional clinical variables such as panel-reactive antibody (PRA) levels, donor type, and HLA mismatches in AR following renal transplantation.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: TNF β (+252A/G), IL-10 (–592A/C), IL-1β (–511C/T) and IL-1ra (86 bp VNTR) gene polymorphisms were determined in 195 renal allograft recipients with and without AR, using PCR. Both these genotypic variants and clinical risk factors were investigated for correlation with AR within the first year after renal transplantation.

RESULTS: Patients with increased pre-transplant PRA levels (P<0.001) and donor type (P=0.012) were prone to the development of AR. After adjusting for all variables of P<0.2, a PRA level >10% (OR=4.515, 95% confidence intervals=1.738–11.727, P=0.002) and the receipt of a graft from a donation after cardiac death (DCD) donor (OR=2.437, 95% confidence intervals=1.047–5.673, P=0.039) remained significantly associated with AR in a multivariate logistic regression analysis. No correlation could be found between recipients with an episode and absence of acute rejection and the gene polymorphisms of these cytokines investigated in the present study.

CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the presence of increased pre-transplant levels of PRA and the receipt of a graft from DCD donor other than cytokine gene polymorphisms are significant risk factors for AR in renal transplantation. To reduce the occurrence of AR, clinicians should take necessary measures to lower the PRA levels and pay more attention to patients who received a graft from a DCD donor.

Keywords: Cytokines - immunology, Graft Rejection - immunology, Graft Survival - immunology, Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein - immunology, Interleukin-10 - immunology, Interleukin-1beta - immunology, Kidney Transplantation - adverse effects, Lymphotoxin-alpha - immunology, Polymorphism, Genetic, Receptors, Cytokine - genetics, Risk Factors, Tissue Donors