Evaluation of Kidney Disease in Liver Transplant Recipients

Kidney Disease in Advanced Liver Disease Patients: A Study of Kidney Damage by a Urinary Cytokine/Chemokine Multiplex Assay

A non-invasive urinary test that detects kidney injuries in liver transplant (LT) candidates would be useful for monitoring of kidney damage. Particularly, the ability to predict irreversibility of such renal damage or progressive nature of renal disease in LT candidates would be of importance to determine the need for dual kidney-liver transplantation (KLT) versus LT alone. We will correlate kidney histology with cytokine/chemokine profile expression in the urine as a potentially useful noninvasive diagnostic tool.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subjects on the liver transplant wait list, subjects who have received a liver transplant at least 6 months prior to enrollment, or subjects who have normal liver function and are about to undergo kidney biospy for diagnostic purposes.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Contraindication to kidney biopsy
• Inability to give informed consent