The Potential Role of the Gut Microbiota in Kidney Transplantation

Kidney transplantation and gut microbiota

Kidney transplantation is an effective way to improve the condition of patients with end-stage renal disease. However, maintaining long-term graft function and improving patient survival remain a key challenge after kidney transplantation. Dysbiosis of intestinal flora has been reported to be associated with complications in renal transplant recipients. The commensal microbiota plays an important role in the immunomodulation of the transplant recipient responses. However, several processes, such as the use of perioperative antibiotics and high-dose immunosuppressants in renal transplant recipients, can lead to gut dysbiosis and disrupt the interaction between the microbiota and the host immune responses, which in turn can lead to complications such as infection and rejection in organ recipients. In this review, we summarize and discuss the changes in intestinal flora and their influencing factors in patients after renal transplantation as well as the evidence related to the impact of intestinal dysbiosis on the prognosis of renal transplantation from in vivo and clinical studies, and conclude with a discussion of the use of microbial therapy in the transplant population. Hopefully, a deeper understanding of the function and composition of the microbiota in patients after renal transplantation may assist in the development of clinical strategies to restore a normal microbiota and facilitate the clinical management of grafts in the future.

The Effect of the Gut Microbiota on Transplanted Kidney Function

The intestinal microflora is extremely important, not only in the processes of absorption, digestion and biosynthesis of vitamins, but also in shaping the immune and cognitive functions of the human body. Several studies demonstrate a correlation between microbiota composition and such events as graft rejection, kidney interstitial fibrosis, urinary tract infections, and diarrhoea or graft tolerance. Some of those changes might be directly linked with pathologies such as colonization with pathogenic bacterial strains. Gut microbiota composition also plays an important role in metabolic complications and viral infections after transplantation. From the other side, gut microbiota might induce graft tolerance by promotion of T and B regulatory cells. Graft tolerance induction is still an extremely important issue regarding transplantology and might allow the reduction or even avoidance of immunosuppressive treatment. Although there is a rising evidence of the pivotal role of gut microbiota in aspects of kidney transplantation there is still a lack of knowledge on the direct mechanisms of microbiota action. Furthermore, some of those negative effects could be reversed by probiotics of faecal microbiota trapoinsplantation. While diabetes and hypertension as well as BKV and CMV viremia are common and important complications of transplantation, both worsening the graft function and causing systemic injuries, it opens up potential clinical treatment options. As has been also suggested in the current review, some bacterial subsets exhibit protective properties. However, currently, there is a lack of evidence on pro- and prebiotic supplementation in kidney transplant patients. In the current review, we describe the effect of the microbiota on the transplanted kidney in renal transplant recipients.

Application of Various Techniques to Gain Insights Into the Complex Urinary Tract Microbial Communities of Renal Transplant Recipients

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are prevalent in renal transplant (RT_X) recipients and associated with worse outcomes. Early detection by sensitive diagnostic tests and appropriate treatment strategies in this cohort is therefore crucial, but evidence has shown that current methods may miss genuine infections. Research has shed light on the urinary tract microbial ecology of healthy individuals and nontransplant patients with UTI, but information on the RTx cohort is scant. We conducted a cross-sectional study to (i) compare the gold standard diagnostic culture with alternative techniques and (ii) characterize RTx patient urinary microbial communities.

Methods

Midstream urine specimens were collected from 51 RTx patients attending a renal transplant clinic and 27 asymptomatic controls. Urinary microscopy, dipstick, and routine culture were performed. To improve sensitivity of microbial detection, we cultured the urinary cell sediment and performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing on urine. Uroplakin-positive urothelial cells shed in urine were analyzed by immunofluorescence staining for any bacterial association.

Results

Sediment culture and 16S rRNA sequencing confirmed detection deficiencies of diagnostic culture and revealed differences in the urobiomes of RTx patients and controls. Specifically, Gardnerella, Escherichia, and Lactobacillus were most abundant in patients, whereas Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, and Gardnerella were most abundant in controls. The application of both culture and sequencing provided a more nuanced view of the urinary microbial communities.

Conclusions

This study provides insight into the potential problems of diagnostic culture within RTx patients and sheds light on their urinary microbial inhabitants. Further work may identify key microbial signatures and facilitate the development of better tools for UTI detection within this cohort, which could allow targeted intervention before an infection leads to serious consequences. http://links.lww.com/TXD/A479.

A Low Tacrolimus Concentration-to-Dose Ratio Increases Calcineurin Inhibitor Nephrotoxicity and Cytomegalovirus Infection Risks in Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Single-Center Study in Japan

BACKGROUND

Tacrolimus (TAC) has several problems due to its narrow therapeutic window and variations pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Recently, several studies reported that TAC metabolism, defined by TAC blood trough concentration to dose (C/D) ratio, was associated with TAC toxicity. Reports on once-daily extended-release TAC (TAC-ER) are limited. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of the TAC metabolic rate on TAC-ER and compare TAC area under the curve (AUC) between fast and slow metabolizers.

METHODS

A total of 58 recipients were included in this study. The optimal cut-off value and time of the C/D ratio on TAC-ER for fast and slow metabolizers was determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for biopsy-proven calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) nephrotoxicity.

RESULTS

The optimal time to evaluate the C/D ratio was 1 month after kidney transplantation (KT) and the cut-off value was 0.9. The multivariate analysis for CNI nephrotoxicity risk showed that only TAC metabolism was associated with CNI nephrotoxicity (hazard ratio 10.60, P = .005, 95% CI 2.03-55.22). Cytomegalovirus infection occurred more frequently in fast metabolizers when the cut-off value of the C/D ratio was set to 0.9 at 3 months after KT (P = .04). The TAC C₄, AUC_2-8, was higher in fast metabolizers than in slow metabolizers (P < .01, P = .03, respectively).

CONCLUSION

The study revealed that TAC fast metabolizers on TAC-ER may be classified as a high-risk group for CNI nephrotoxicity and cytomegalovirus infection. The result of TAC AUC supported the hypothesis that fast metabolizers tended to be overexposed to immunosuppressive agents early after oral administration.