Urinary Exosomal microRNA as a Non-Invasive Biomarker for the Diagnosis of Acute Rejection in Kidney Transplant Recipients

J. Seo¹, Y. Lee¹, S. Jung¹, Y. Kim¹, J. Moon¹, K. Jeong¹, C. Kim², J. Park³, B. Chung⁴, Y. Kim⁵, S. Lee¹

¹Nephrology, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, ²Nephrology, Kyungpook National University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea, Republic of, ³Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, ⁴Nephrology, The St. Mary’s Hospital of Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, ⁵Nephrology, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea, Republic of

Meeting: 2019 American Transplant Congress

Abstract number: A132

Keywords: Kidney transplantation, Non-invasive diagnosis, Rejection

Session Information

Session Name: Poster Session A: Biomarkers, Immune Monitoring and Outcomes

Session Type: Poster Session

Date: Saturday, June 1, 2019

Session Time: 5:30pm-7:30pm

Presentation Time: 5:30pm-7:30pm

Location: Hall C & D

*Purpose: Acute rejection (AR) is the main obstacle to the graft survival after kidney transplantation. Urinary exosome is a promising source of biomarker for various kidney diseases, but few studies determined the clinical relevance of urinary exosomal microRNA in kidney transplant recipients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the profiles of urinary exosomal microRNAs to discover novel biomarkers of AR in patients who underwent kidney transplantation.

*Methods: urinary exosomal microRNAs from 108 kidney transplant recipients were extracted. The candidate microRNAs for the diagnosis of AR were selected based on Nanostring analysis of urinary exosomal microRNAs, meta-analysis and the review of literature. The levels of candidate microRNAs were further confirmed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The diagnostic value of final candidate microRNAs was determined in independent validation group.

*Results: Nanostring analysis found that the expressions of 14 microRNAs were significantly altered in patients with AR compared to those with stable graft function. Meta-analysis and the review of literature revealed 10 and 7 additional candidate microRNAs of AR, respectively. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction confirmed that a total of 7 microRNAs maintained their differential expressions, and 4 microRNAs were chosen as final candidate microRNAs of AR by forward stepwise logistic regression model. The combinations of the levels of these 4 microRNAs effectively discriminated patients with AR from other patients in validation group, with AUC value of 0.790.

*Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the profiles of urinary exosomal microRNAs are altered in kidney transplant recipients having AR, and these differences could be potential non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis of AR.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Seo J, Lee Y, Jung S, Kim Y, Moon J, Jeong K, Kim C, Park J, Chung B, Kim Y, Lee S. Urinary Exosomal microRNA as a Non-Invasive Biomarker for the Diagnosis of Acute Rejection in Kidney Transplant Recipients [abstract]. Am J Transplant. 2019; 19 (suppl 3). https://atcmeetingabstracts.com/abstract/urinary-exosomal-microrna-as-a-non-invasive-biomarker-for-the-diagnosis-of-acute-rejection-in-kidney-transplant-recipients/. Accessed July 6, 2025.

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