RANTES and MCP-1 chemokine plasma levels in chronic renal transplant dysfunction and chronic renal failure

Objectives: Procedures to diagnose renal allograft rejection depend on dete ction of graft dysfunction due to the presence of mononuclear leukocytic in filtrates. Design and methods: In our study, we pursued an immunodiagnostic approach u tilizing an ELISA method on plasma samples to monitor patients waiting to u ndergo transplantation in order to evidence prognostic developments in rena l transplantation and, at least, to diagnose renal chronic transplant dysfu nction. We analyzed blood levels of two chemokines, RANTES and MCP-1, which are normally overexpressed locally in renal chronic rejection. Results: Our results showed that patients affected by chronic renal failure (and waiting for kidney transplant), as well as kidney-grafted patients af fected by chronic transplant dysfunction, had plasma levels of RANTES signi ficantly higher than those of controls (patients without acute or chronic p athologies). Conclusions: Our data suggest a simple method to evaluate the plasmatic pre sence of RANTES, which could be involved in longterm kidney graft failure. Copyright (C) 1999 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists.