Kidney transplantation is perhaps the best available treatment for end-stage chronic kidney disease. Even though the success rate is high, it is still uncertain when it comes to the sustainability of the transplanted organ.

The kidney transplant rejection is a common occurrence due to the immune system of the recipient responding to the new kidney negatively. In this article, we explore how blood analysis can foretell kidney transplant rejection and what this entails for transplant recipients.

The Role of the Immune System in Kidney Transplant Rejection

Kidney transplantation is a complex procedure that involves the the surgical removal of a damaged or diseased kidney and replacing it with a healthy one from a living or deceased donor.

The immune system of the recipient is responsible for identifying and fighting foreign substances, including the newly transplanted kidney. The transplantation process is challenging, and transplant recipients will need to take immunosuppressive medications for the rest of their lives to prevent their immune system from rejecting the transplanted organ.

The reason that the immune system is involved in the kidney transplant rejection is that the transplanted kidney is from someone else. The cells in the transplanted kidney have proteins that are not present in the recipient’s cells.

These foreign proteins are called antigens and serve as signals that are automatically detected by the recipient’s immune system. Once identified, the immune system will launch an attack on these foreign organs, causing the transplanted kidney to become inflamed and eventually stop functioning.

The Significance of Blood Analysis in Kidney Transplant Rejection

Currently, there are no clinical methods to predict acute kidney transplant rejection.

However, researchers have found that measuring specific molecules such as chemokines, cytokines, and cell-free DNA in the bloodstream can predict kidney transplant rejection and identify the causes.

Most notably, blood analysis can monitor Cytokine storms. Cytokines are small proteins that are a critical part of the human immune system. They are produced to regulate the immune response to fight off infections.

The cytokine storm is produced when the immune system becomes overactive and produces a large number of cytokines. The cytokine storm causes inflammation in the body’s organs, which can lead to organ failure. Blood analysis can detect cytokine storms, which can serve as an early warning sign of kidney transplant rejection.

The Success of Blood Analysis in Predicting Kidney Transplant Rejection

Researchers have been investigating the possibility of using a noninvasive blood test to identify immunologic kidney transplant rejection.

The study published in the American Journal of Transplantation by the University of Michigan Health System found that a single blood analysis test could determine if a kidney transplant was under attack by the immune system weeks or months before conventional tests could confirm the rejection.

The study analyzed a protein called CXCL10 in the blood of 1,054 kidney transplant recipients.

The researchers found that an increase in CXCL10 levels four weeks after the transplant was a warning sign of rejection up to three months before other clinical symptoms appeared. This information could be critical in preventing the rejection of the transplanted kidney and saving the patient from significant discomfort and personal cost.

Conclusion

Blood analysis plays an important role in identifying the risk of kidney transplant rejection for transplant recipients.

Utilizing blood analysis, doctors can monitor the levels of specific molecules, including chemokines, cytokines, and cell-free DNA, which can predict kidney transplant rejection and identify the causes. The CXCL10 protein in the blood plays a significant role in detecting kidney transplant rejection, providing an early warning sign before clinical symptoms.

This promising non-invasive blood test can potentially save many transplanted kidneys, prolonging the recipient’s life and reducing costs involved in returning to dialysis.