Christophe Mariat

Predicting the Risk for Dialysis or Death in IgA Nephropathy

For the individual patient with primary IgA nephropathy (IgAN), it remains a challenge to predict long-term outcomes for patients receiving standard treatment. We studied a prospective cohort of 332 patients with biopsy-proven IgAN patients followed over an average of 13 years. We calculated an absolute renal risk (ARR) of dialysis or death by counting the number of risk factors present at diagnosis: hypertension, proteinuria ≥1 g/d, and severe pathologic lesions (global optical score, ≥8). Overall, the ARR score allowed significant risk stratification (P < 0.0001). The cumulative incidence of death or dialysis at 10 and 20 years was 2 and 4%, respectively, for ARR=0; 2 and 9% for ARR=1; 7 and 18% for ARR=2; and 29 and 64% for ARR=3, in adequately treated patients. When achieved, control of hypertension and reduction of proteinuria reduced the risk for death or dialysis. In conclusion, the absolute renal risk score, determined at diagnosis, associates with risk for dialysis or death.

Cystatin C: current position and future prospects

Abstract Cystatin C is a low-molecular-weight protein which has been proposed as a marker of renal function that could replace creatinine. Indeed, the concentration of cystatin C is mainly determined by glomerular filtration and is particularly of interest in clinical settings where the relationship between creatinine production and muscle mass impairs the clinical performance of creatinine. Since the last decade, numerous studies have evaluated its potential use in measuring renal function in various populations. More recently, other potential developments for its clinical use have emerged. This review summarises current knowledge about the physiology of cystatin C and about its use as a renal marker, either alone or in equations developed to estimate the glomerular filtration rate. This paper also reviews recent data about the other applications of cystatin C, particularly in cardiology, oncology and clinical pharmacology. Clin Chem Lab Med 2008;46:1664–86.

Specificity of CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T Cell Function in Alloimmunity

CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (TRegs) are critical for the acquisition of peripheral allograft tolerance. However, it is unclear whether TRegs are capable of mediating alloantigen-specific suppressive effects and, hence, contributing to the specificity of the tolerant state. In the current report we have used the ABM TCR transgenic (Tg) system, a C57BL/6-derived strain in which CD4+ T cells directly recognize the allogeneic MHC-II molecule I-Abm12, to assess the capacity of TRegs to mediate allospecific effects. In these mice, 5–6% of Tg CD4+ T cells exhibit conventional markers of the TReg phenotype. ABM TRegs are more effective than wild-type polyclonal TRegs at suppressing effector immune responses directed against I-Abm12 alloantigen both in vitro and in vivo. In contrast, they are incapable of suppressing responses directed against third-party alloantigens unless these are expressed in the same allograft as I-Abm12. Taken together, our results indicate that in transplantation, TReg function is dependent on TCR stimulation, providing definitive evidence for their specificity in the regulation of alloimmune responses.

Autoantibodies Targeting Galactose-Deficient IgA1 Associate with Progression of IgA Nephropathy

Mesangial and circulating IgA1 with aberrantly glycosylated hinge region O-glycans characterize IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Unlike healthy individuals, some IgA1 is galactose deficient in patients with IgAN, leaving terminal N-acetylgalactosamine residues in the hinge region exposed. Circulating autoantibodies that recognize such galactose-deficient IgA1 as an autoantigen, or the levels of the autoantigen itself, may allow prediction of disease progression. Here, we analyzed serum samples obtained at diagnosis for autoantigen and autoantibodies from 97 patients with IgAN selected from our prospective cohort according to their absolute renal risk for progression to dialysis or death (0, very low; 1, low; 2, high; 3, very high). We also analyzed samples from controls comprising 30 healthy volunteers and 30 patients with non-IgAN disease. The mean follow-up was 13.8 years. We found that mean serum levels of total autoantigen, normalized IgG autoantibody, and total IgA autoantibody were significantly higher in patients than in the combined controls (all P≤0.01). Furthermore, increasing levels correlated with worse clinical outcomes. In Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analyses, IgG autoantibody levels ≥1.33 predicted dialysis or death (both P≤0.01). In conclusion, these data suggest that serum levels of IgG and IgA autoantibodies strongly associate with the progression of IgAN nephropathy.

Immunostimulatory Tim-1–specific antibody deprograms Tregs and prevents transplant tolerance in mice

T cell Ig mucin (Tim) molecules modulate CD4(+) T cell responses. In keeping with the view that Tim-1 generates a stimulatory signal for CD4(+) T cell activation, we hypothesized that an agonist Tim-1-specific mAb would intensify the CD4(+) T cell-dependant allograft response. Unexpectedly, we determined that a particular Tim-1-specific mAb exerted reciprocal effects upon the commitment of alloactivated T cells to regulatory and effector phenotypes. Commitment to the Th1 and Th17 phenotypes was fostered, whereas commitment to the Treg phenotype was hindered. Moreover, ligation of Tim-1 in vitro effectively deprogrammed Tregs and thus produced Tregs unable to control T cell responses. Overall, the effects of the agonist Tim-1-specific mAb on the allograft response stemmed from enhanced expansion and survival of T effector cells; a capacity to deprogram natural Tregs; and inhibition of the conversion of naive CD4(+) T cells into Tregs. The reciprocal effects of agonist Tim-1-specific mAbs upon effector T cells and Tregs serve to prevent allogeneic transplant tolerance.

An estimated glomerular filtration rate equation for the full age spectrum

BACKGROUND Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is accepted as the best indicator of kidney function and is commonly estimated from serum creatinine (SCr)-based equations. Separate equations have been developed for children (Schwartz equation), younger and middle-age adults [Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation] and older adults [Berlin Initiative Study 1 (BIS1) equation], and these equations lack continuity with ageing. We developed and validated an equation for estimating the glomerular filtration rate that can be used across the full age spectrum (FAS). METHODS The new FAS equation is based on normalized serum creatinine (SCr/Q), where Q is the median SCr from healthy populations to account for age and sex. Coefficients for the equation are mathematically obtained by requiring continuity during the paediatric-adult and adult-elderly transition. Research studies containing a total of 6870 healthy and kidney-diseased white individuals, including 735 children, <18 years of age, 4371 adults, between 18 and 70 years of age, and 1764 older adults, ≥70 years of age with measured GFR (inulin, iohexol and iothalamate clearance) and isotope dilution mass spectrometry-equivalent SCr, were used for the validation. Bias, precision and accuracy (P30) were evaluated. RESULTS The FAS equation was less biased [-1.7 (95% CI -3.4, -0.2) versus 6.0 (4.5, 7.5)] and more accurate [87.5% (85.1, 89.9) versus 83.8% (81.1, 86.5)] than the Schwartz equation for children and adolescents; less biased [5.0 (4.5, 5.5) versus 6.3 (5.9, 6.8)] and as accurate [81.6% (80.4, 82.7) versus 81.9% (80.7, 83.0)] as the CKD-EPI equation for young and middle-age adults; and less biased [-1.1 (-1.6, -0.6) versus 5.6 (5.1, 6.2)] and more accurate [86.1% (84.4, 87.7) versus 81.8% (79.7, 84.0)] than CKD-EPI for older adults. CONCLUSIONS The FAS equation has improved validity and continuity across the full age-spectrum and overcomes the problem of implausible eGFR changes in patients which would otherwise occur when switching between more age-specific equations.

The Use of the Oxford Classification of IgA Nephropathy to Predict Renal Survival

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES A new classification for IgA nephropathy was recently proposed, namely the Oxford classification. It established specific pathologic features that predict the risk of progression of renal disease. This classification needs validation in different patient populations. We propose a retrospective study to evaluate the predictive value of the Oxford classification on renal survival defined by doubling creatinine or end-stage renal disease in patients with IgA nephropathy. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS We included 183 patients with primary IgA nephropathy diagnosed between 1994 and 2005. Mean follow-up time was 77 months. Doubling creatinine occurred in 20% of the patients, and end-stage renal disease occurred in 16%. The biopsies were revisited to apply the Oxford classification. The influence of pathologic features on renal survival was analyzed in univariate and multivariate models. RESULTS In univariate time-dependent analyses, tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis, segmental glomerulosclerosis, and endocapillary hypercellularity strongly impacted doubling creatinine or end-stage renal disease. On the contrary, mesangial hypercellularity was not associated with renal outcome. In the multivariate model, only estimated GFR at baseline was a risk factor, pathologic lesions having no independent influence. CONCLUSIONS We confirm the usefulness of the Oxford classification to establish the renal prognosis of patients with IgA nephropathy, although renal function at baseline seems to be of a greater importance than pathologic lesions.

Roles of Deletion and Regulation in Creating Mixed Chimerism and Allograft Tolerance Using a Nonlymphoablative Irradiation-Free Protocol

The induction of mixed chimerism (MC) is a powerful and effective means to achieve transplantation tolerance in rodent models. Host conditioning with irradiation or cytotoxic drugs has been used in many protocols for chimeric induction across allogeneic barriers. The deletion of alloreactive T cell clones has been described as the main mechanism responsible for the induction of a stable MC. In this study, we demonstrate that a stable MC and skin allograft tolerance can be established across MHC barriers by a noncytotoxic, irradiation-free approach using costimulation blockade plus rapamycin treatment. By using an adoptive transfer model of skin allograft and using specific Vβ TCR probes, we demonstrated that deletion of donor-reactive cytopathic T cell clones is indeed profound in tolerant hosts. Nonetheless, the challenge of tolerant mixed chimeras with 5 million mononuclear leukocytes (MNL) from naive syngeneic mice was neither able to abolish the stable MC nor to trigger skin allograft rejection, a hallmark of peripheral, not central tolerance. Furthermore, in an adoptive transfer model, MNLs harvested from tolerant hosts significantly inhibited the capacity of naive MNLs to reject same donor, but not third-party, skin allografts. Moreover, when we transplanted skin allografts from stable tolerant chimeras onto syngeneic immune-incompetent mice, graft-infiltrating T cells migrated from the graft site, expanded in the new host, and protected allografts from acute rejection by naive syngeneic MNLs. In this model, both deletional and immunoregulatory mechanisms are active during the induction and/or maintenance of allograft tolerance through creation of MC using a potentially clinically applicable regimen.

The applicability of eGFR equations to different populations

The Cockcroft–Gault equation for estimating glomerular filtration rate has been learnt by every generation of medical students over the decades. Since the publication of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) study equation in 1999, however, the supremacy of the Cockcroft–Gault equation has been relentlessly disputed. More recently, the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology (CKD-EPI) consortium has proposed a group of novel equations for estimating glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The MDRD and CKD-EPI equations were developed following a rigorous process, are expressed in a way in which they can be used with standardized biomarkers of GFR (serum creatinine and/or serum cystatin C) and have been evaluated in different populations of patients. Today, the MDRD Study equation and the CKD-EPI equation based on serum creatinine level have supplanted the Cockcroft–Gault equation. In many regards, these equations are superior to the Cockcroft–Gault equation and are now specifically recommended by international guidelines. With their generalized use, however, it has become apparent that those equations are not infallible and that they fail to provide an accurate estimate of GFR in certain situations frequently encountered in clinical practice. After describing the processes that led to the development of the new GFR-estimating equations, this Review discusses the clinical situations in which the applicability of these equations is questioned.

Predicting glomerular filtration rate in kidney transplantation: are the K/DOQI guidelines applicable?

The kidney disease outcomes quality initiative (K/DOQI) guidelines introduced a classification of chronic kidney disease (CKD) based on the level of kidney function. In order to predict the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), they specifically recommended the use of the modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) study and Cockcroft–Gault (C–G) equations.