title: Arteriolopathy in non-episode biopsies of renal transplant allograft.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We have been performing protocol biopsies since 1995 to predict the outcome of renal allograft. However, histopathological findings in renal allograft with stable function remain unclear. For this reason, we performed non-episode biopsy on long-surviving renal allograft and investigated the histopathological changes. Among the several diseases seen in non-episode biopsies, arteriolopathy, such as drug-induced nephropathy, is one of the most frequent diseases. However, it is unrelated to the dosage and the concentration of cyclosporine or tacrolimus. Consequently, we evaluated the clinicopathological findings of arteriolopathy in this study in order to clarify whether cyclosporine (CsA) or tacrolimus (FK506) is responsible for these findings.
  
  
  METHODS
  We defined non-episode biopsy as a case with a serum creatinine level less than 2.0 mg/dL and containing less than 500 mg/dL of urinary protein. Final results showed that 71 cases were identified as non-episode biopsy. We then evaluated the histopathological findings and the clinical characteristics of these cases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-two of the 71 non-episode biopsy specimens showed findings of arteriolopathy. The frequency and the severity of arteriolopathy are not concerned with dosage and concentration of CsA or FK506. The arteriolopathy seen in non-episode biopsy was related to the time of the biopsy and the kidney age. Arteriolopathy in nonepisode biopsy also had a relationship with hypertension, suggesting that it is important to strictly control blood pressure for graft survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita-City, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toki
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kyo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takahara
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Morozumi
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ichimaru
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Permpongkosol
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kyakuno
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kokado
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okuyama
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016572:Cyclosporine; D016559:Tacrolimus