Objective BK virus-associated nephropathy ( BKVAN) after kidney transplantation is a key factor that influence the prognosis of transplant kidney .To our knowledge , it is believed to be associated with immune suppression .We observed the cura-tive effect and influencing factorsof anti-rejection scheme that Leflunomide was administered instead of Mycophenolate Mofetil ( MMF) on transplant kidney BKVAN .. Methods This study included 15 kidney transplant recipients with pathologically confirmed BKVAN in Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military Region form March 2007 to March 2013 .Leflunomide was administered instead of Myco-phenolate Mofetil ( MMF) .Serum creatinine level , renal allograft loss rate and side effects of leflunomide were monitored after medica-tion switch.The patients were divided into two groups , which were renal allograft loss group and renal allograft survival group , for fur-ther analyses . The differences between each groups in clinical characteristics as well as histochemical features of the transplanted kidneys were analyzed to determine the cause of renal allograft loss in patients with BKVAN . Results Six patients experienced renal al-lograft loss after switching to leflunomide and needed hemodialysis , and 9 patients had stable renal allograft function , renal allograft loss rate was 40.0%.Hyperuricemia occurred in 8 patients in the period before the medication switch and in 5 patients after the switch;a decrease in blood white cell orplateletcount was found in 2 patients during both periods;an increase in Alanine aminotransferase ( ALT) level occurred in one patient after the medication switch .There were no statistically significant differences in any of the above parame-ters before and after the medication switch.Compared to allograft survival group, serum creatinine level[(1.80 ±0.53)mg/dL vs (2.74 ±0.58)mg/dL, P=0.007], the number of B lymphocytes [(206.44 ±144.96) vs (439.67 ±267.77), P=0.047] and CD68[(588.44 ±271.80) vs (944.67 ±259.32), P=0.025] in renal allograft tissue were significantly higherin the allograft loss group. ConclusionLeflunomide is a safe and effective medication for BKVAN .Patients with significantly increased serum creatinine level might have a poorer prognosis .Significantly increased B lymphocytes and CD 68 cells in renal allograft tissue might indicate a poor prognosis.

Objective Little research has been done on the risk factor analysis of BK virus(BKV) infection in renal transplant recipients in Chinese population.The article aimed to investigate BKV infection and analyze its risk factors in renal transplant recipients in China.Methods Renal transplant recipients who had received the detection of BKV DNA in urine and blood samples in Nanjing General Hospital from June 2015 to July 2016 were selected, while the patients with uremia hemodialysis and healthy living donors were included as control group.According to the detection results of BKV DNA in urine and blood samples, renal transplant recipients were divided into BKV DNA positive group(n=89, positive urine or blood and urine BKV DNA) and BKV DNA negative group(n=359, negative blood and urine BKV DNA).Analysis was made on BKV infection in renal transplant recipients in order to investigate the effects of factors including clinical condition, postoperative complications and immunosuppressive regimen on BKV infection.Results The positive rate of BKV DNA in urine samples of renal transplant recipients was 19.9%, which was higher than those of patients with dialysis and healthy living donors(6.3% and 4.2% respectively, P<0.001).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed BKV infection was associated with pulmonary infection(OR[95%CI], 3.468[1.227-9.802];P=0.019) , acute rejection (OR[95%CI], 2.645[1.142-6.127];P=0.023), and FK506 (OR[95%CI], 2.408[1.104-5.254];P=0.027).Conclusion The incidence of BKV infection in renal transplant recipients increases significantly.Pulmonary infection, acute rejection and FK506-based immunosuppressive regimen are risk factors leading to BKV infection.

OBJECTIVE: To search for ideal bone graft substitute. METHODS: The beta TCP/rhBMP-2 composite was constructed by combining beta-Tricalcium phosphat (beta-TCP) that was prepared by the authors with recombinant human morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) and was implanted into the muscle pouches in the thigh of mice. beta-TCP alone was implanted on the opposite side as controls. At intervals of 1,3,7,14 and 28 days after the implantation, the specimens were obtained, and histologic study and alkaline phosphatase assay (7,14,28 days) were performed. RESULTS: There was a large amount of cartilage and bone formation within the composite, increasing with time; whereas there was no new bone formation where beta-TCP alone was implanted. Besides, the levels of alkaline phosphatase in the beta-TCP/rhBMP-2 implants also were increasing with time and were higher than those in controls. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that beta-TCP/rhBMP-2 composite possesses heterotopic osteoinductive potential.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of bortezomib in kidney transplant recipients with chronic active antibody-mediated rejection (cABMR). Methods: A retrospective study wad conducted in patients(n=136)fulfilling the Banff 2017 criteria for cABMR from January 2004 to July 2017, including 29 patients bortezomib group and 97 patients in control group. Identified cABMR patients were dichotomized into bortezomib and control groups with a 1∶1 match using the propensity score matching method. The primary outcome was initiation of replacement therapy or an estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR)declined to <15 ml·min^-1·(1.73m²)^-1. The prognosis and adverse reactions of two groups were analyzed and evaluated. Results: No significant inter-group differences existed in age, sex ratio, immunosuppressive regimen, allograft age, serum creatinine, eGFR, urine protein, serum albumin, hemoglobin or HCV positive rate(all P>0.05). There were no significant inter-group differences in Banff scores (g, i, t, v, ah, mm, ci, ct, cv, ptc, c4d, all P>0.05). The median survival for bortezomib group and control group was 40.7 months and 36.9 months respectively. No statistically significant difference in graft survival between the two groups was observed(P=0.83), even after propensity score adjustment(P=0.29). The incidence of nausea, diarrhea and thrombocytopenia in bortezomib group was higher than those in control group (P<0.05). Conclusions Bortezomib does not seem to improve the prognosis of cABMR while is associated with higher incidence of adverse reactions.

Objective To characterize the clinicopathologic features,treatment efficacy and prognoses of proliferative glomerulonephritis with monoclonal IgG deposits (PGNMID) in renal allografts.Methods Electronic medical records of Jinling Hospital were searched for PGNMID that was diagnosed during January 2008 to April 2017.Clinicopathologic features,treatment regimens and prognoses information were retrieved and analyzed.Results We identified 5 cases of PGNMID with clinical symptoms of proteinuria (5/5),serum creatinine elevation (4/5) or hematuria (4/5) 5 to 19 months after kidney transplantation.Various light microscopic features were observed,with predominantly membranoprolifeative pattern.Mild mesangial proliferation pattern could be observed in early stages of disease progression.Immunofluorescence revealed monoclonal IgG3κ in 3 patients and IgG3λ in another 2 cases.One case of PGNMID with normal light microscopy but monoclonal IgG deposits was verified by IgG and light-chain subtyping.In the 4 patients treated with rituximab or bortezomib,decreased proteinuria was achieved in all treated patients while the decreases in serum creatinine decrease were only observed in 2 patients At last follow-up,one patient was in dialysis and serum creatinine levels of other 2 patients were ＞265.2 μmol/L.Conclusion Membranoprolifeative pattern is the most frequently observed microscopic findings and IgG3 is the most frequent IgG subtype in PGNMID.PGNMID recurs shortly after kidney transplantation.Rituximab and/or bortezomib is conducive to decrease proteinuria while their efficacy to decrease serum creatinine is dubious.The most effective treatment protocol for PGNMID remains to be determined in larger samples.

Objective:We aimed to evaluate the predictive value of pre-implantation biopsy combined with Lifeport for the short-term prognosis of kidney allograft from donation after citizen death (DCD).Methods:Data from a total of 34 patients who had undergone kidney transplantation in Jinling Hospital from December 2017 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Histopathological data from pre-implantation biopsy , Lifeport parameters and recipient kidney transplant function at 3 months post-surgery were collected. The performances of histopathological indexes , and Lifeport parameters to predict delayed graft function (DGF) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 3 months post-surgery were observed evaluated.Results:13 cases of DGF occurred, accounting for 38.2%. Serum creatinine at death and resistance index (RI) at 0.5 h, 1 h, 2 h and 4 h after Lifeport hypothermic machine perfusion (HMP) in the DGF group was significantly higher than that in the non-DGF group. Histologically, the acute tubular injury (ATI) score of the DGF group was higher than that of the non-DGF group, whereas the Remuzzi score was not statistically different between the two groups. The eGFR at 3 months post-transplant was moderately correlated with the RI at 4 h HMP and the Remuzzi score (RI: r=-0.48, P<0.001; Remuzzi score: ρ=-0.42, P=0.01), but no correlated with ATI score of the donor kidney. Although Remuzzi score was not correlated with kidney allograft recovery time (ρ=-0.25, P=0.16), it was inversely correlated with eGFR at 3 months post-transplant (ρ=-0.42, P=0.01). Combined use of Lifeport HMP 4-hour RI and ATI score increased the sensitivity and specificity of predicting DGF to 100% (95% CI: 75.3%-100%) and 90.5% (95% CI: 69.6%-98.8%) respectively. Conclusions:The serum creatinine at death, Lifeport RI, and ATI score of the DGF group were significantly higher than those of the non-DGF group, and the eGFR at 3 months post-transplant was correlated with the Lifeport RI and Remuzzi score. Combined use of ATI score and RI at 4 hours of Lifeport perfusion improved the sensitivity and specificity of predicting DGF .

Objective:To explore the clinicopathologic features and renal prognosis of patients with post-transplant membranous nephropathy (MN).Methods:Patients with allograft biopsy-proven MN were reviewed retrospectively and divided into unknown etiology group (A, n=12) and recurrent membranous nephropathy (rMN) group (B, n=7). Their clinicopathological data and renal prognosis were assessed and compared.Results:No differences existed in the proportion of living-related donor or post-transplant allograft function. Group B had recurrence at 16.4 months after transplantation and it was significantly shorter than group A. Allograft impairment manifested as proteinuria, nephrotic syndrome and/or renal insufficiency in both groups. The positive rate of serum anti-PLA2R antibody and renal PLA2R staining was significantly higher in group B than that in group A. Similarly, the intensity of IgG4 subtype staining was also stronger in group B than that in group A. The 5-year cumulative renal survival rates from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) were 77.8% and 66.7% in groups A and B respectively. No significant inter-group difference existed in renal prognosis.Conclusions:Anti-PLA2R antibody plays an important role in the recurrence of rMN after renal allografting. PLA2R staining is useful for detecting primary disease and its sensitivity is higher than that of serum anti-PLA2R antibody. Rituximab is an effective treatment for post-transplant MN. Follow-up studies with a larger sample size are required for further verification.

Objective:To explore the long-term prognosis of chronic active antibody-mediated rejection(cABMR)and independent risk factors for prognosis.Methods:A single-center retrospective cohort with biopsy-proven cABMR was examined. Renal biopsies were scored according to the criteria of Banff 2017. The primary outcome was death-censored graft failure defined as resuming dialysis or estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR)decreased to <15 ml·(min·1.73m 2) -1. The prognostic significance of clinical and histopathologic parameters were determined by a Cox proportional hazard model. Results:Clinical data from 149 cases were available for analysis with a median follow-up of 28(15~51)months. In a multivariable model, ci + ct score(HR 3.0; 95 % CI 1.9~4.7), cg score(HR 1.9; 95 %CI 1.1~3.1), eGFR(HR 2.0; 95 % CI 1.3~3.2)and proteinuria(HR 2.0; 95 %CI 1.3~3.2)were independent predictors of primary outcome.Conclusions:eGFR, proteinuria, Banff ci + ct and Banff cg are independent risk factors for the prognosis of cABMR.