Diagnostic Efficacy of Peripheral Blood Marker-based Molecular Diagnostic Method for Antibody-mediated Rejection (AMR) in ABO Blood Type Incompatible Kidney Transplant (ABOiKT)

Our research team retrospectively analyzes biomarkers that distinguish accommodation and acute antibody-mediated rejection through transcriptomic analysis of peripheral blood in patients with ABO blood type incompatibility kidney transplantation at Seoul National University Hospital. Through this, a classification model was developed to distinguish accommodation and antibody-mediated rejection using peripheral blood marker at the time of the protocol biopsy on the 10th day after renal transplantation, and recently reported as a new peripheral blood marker-based molecular diagnostic method. On the 10th day after surgery, transcriptomic analysis through RNA-seq was performed using samples of peripheral blood from 18 patients with accommodation and 10 patients with antibody-mediated rejection confirmed by protocol biopsy. The candidate genes were validated in the discovery set and another independent training set through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Finally, a 5-gene classification model including COX7A2L, CD69, CD14, CFD, and FOXJ3 was developed through logistic regression analysis.

To evaluate the diagnostic effectiveness (sensitivity, specificity) for the peripheral blood marker-based molecular diagnostic method by prospectively recruiting patients with ABO blood type incompatible kidney transplantation is needed. And, it is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of whether the peripheral blood marker-based molecular diagnostic method can predict antibody-mediated rejection or accommodation as a result of protocol biopsy that will be performed on the 10th day after transplantation - peripheral blood samples collected earlier than the 10th day (day 5 and day 7) after ABO blood type incompatible kidney transplantation.