DISPARATE CHANGES IN PLASMA AND TISSUE PENTOSIDINE LEVELS AFTER KIDNEY AND KIDNEY-PANCREAS TRANSPLANTATION

The advanced glycation end-product, pentosidine, was measured in plasm a proteins and skin collagen before and after kidney and kidney-pancre as transplantation in order to determine the relationship between plas ma and tissue levels and to characterize the pattern of change in pent osidine levels after correction of hyperglycemia and/or renal failure. The content of pentosidine in skin collagen was higher than that in p lasma proteins both before and after transplantation. However, there w as no correlation between plasma and skin pentosidine levels. Prior to transplantation, the content of pentosidine in skin collagen was rela ted to the duration of dialytic therapy, presence of diabetes mellitus , age, and female gender. Following transplantation, plasma pentosidin e levels were inversely correlated with glomerular filtration rate (r= -0.64; p<0.01). While plasma pentosidine levels consistently decreased after transplantation, levels in skin collagen increased in 10 of 13 patients, including 5 of 6 recipients of kidney-pancreas transplants, Our results indicate that tissue levels of pentosidine persist for lon g periods of time after kidney or kidney-pancreas transplantation, des pite consistent decreases in levels measured in plasma proteins. The o bserved increase in tissue pentosidine levels in a majority of patient s suggests that formation of advanced glycation end-products may conti nue after otherwise successful kidney or kidney-pancreas transplantati on.