title: Changes of serum albumin and C-reactive protein are related to changes of interleukin-6 release by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in hemodialysis patients treated with different membranes.
abstract: Protein malnutrition, a condition associated with an albumin concentration less than 3.5 g/dL, has been shown to be a major risk factor for increased mortality in hemodialysis patients. The aim of this cross-over study was to evaluate the relationship between the type of membrane adopted and serum albumin changes by measuring peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) interleukin-6 (IL-6) release, serum albumin, and plasma concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) in 18 patients dialyzed with different membranes. During the study, all patients were dialyzed with cuprophan (CU), synthetically modified cellulosic (SMC) membrane (a new cellulosic membrane with lesser complement activation), and cellulose diacetate (CD) membrane, and have served as their own controls. IL-6 spontaneous release by PBMC resulted after 3 months of SMC (436.2 +/- 47.4 pg/mL) significantly (P < 0.05) reduced as compared with CU (569.3 +/- 24.5 pg/mL). This effect was more evident after 6 months of dialysis with SMC (220 +/- 35.3 pg/mL, P < 0.01 versus CU and versus 3 months of SMC). The passage to CD membrane was followed by a progressive new increase in the IL-6 PBMC release (332.3 +/- 30.7 after 3 months, and 351.2 +/- 35.8 pg/mL after 6 months, respectively) that, however, remained significantly (P < 0.05) lower than CU. The behavior of CRP plasma levels resembled that of IL-6 PBMC release (23.3 +/- 4.7 in CU, 11.0 +/- 2.1 after 3 months in SMC, and 7.9 +/- 1.5 after 6 months in SMC, respectively). IL-6 release values were positively correlated with circulating levels of CRP (r = 0.3264, P < 0.002). Serum albumin increased after 6 months of dialysis with SMC membranes (3.25 +/- 0.09 g/dL in CU and 3.64 +/- 0.07 g/dL in SMC, P < 0.05). When the patients were switched to CD, serum albumin showed a slight, though not statistically significant, decrease. Serum albumin concentrations negatively correlated with both IL-6 release values (r = -0.247, P < 0.05) and CRP plasma levels (r = -0.433, P < 0.001). In conclusion, our data clearly show that a significant relationship exists between biocompatibility of the membranes and serum albumin changes; serum albumin levels, in fact, are negatively correlated with the PBMC spontaneous IL-6 release values and CRP circulating levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, University Federico II of Naples, Naples, Italy. memoli@unina.it
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Memoli
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Minutolo
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bisesti
authors.forename: Loredana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Postiglione
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Conti
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marzano
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Capuano
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Andreucci
authors.forename: Mario M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Balletta
authors.forename: Bruna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Guida
authors.forename: Ciro
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tetta
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D002482:Cellulose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D003167:Complement Activation; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008875:Middle Aged; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D015850:Interleukin-6; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D012709:Serum Albumin; C005062:acetylcellulose; D002482:Cellulose; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; C009865:cuprammonium cellulose