Differential MicroRNA Expressions in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Are Predictive of Renal Allograft Function

Abstract Background The present diagnostic methods for detecting graft damage after kidney transplantation are either invasive or not early enough. The microRNAs (miRNAs) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were suggested as promising biomarkers. Methods Using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), nine miRNAs (miR-142-5p, miR-142-3p, miR-223, miR-211, miR-486, miR-155, miR-10b, miR-30a and let-7c) related to the human renal allograft status were identified in PBMCs from 104 kidney transplant recipients. Results The miR-142-5p, miR-142-3p and miR-223 were significantly up-regulated and miR-10b was significantly down-regulated in recipients with abnormal levels of serum creatinine 3 to 4 weeks later. Moreover, the miR-142-5p and miR-142-3p were also found to be significantly up-regulated in recipients with abnormal levels of cystatin C. Through a combination of the validated miRNAs, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses yielded the highest AUC value of 0.7913 and 0.7063 in predicting the levels of serum creatinine and cystatin C, respectively. In the testing stage, the developed models correctly predicted allograft function in 16-17 out of 22 recipients (false rate, 22.7-27.2%). Conclusions miRNAs in PBMCs of recipients hold a great promise to be used as predictive and non-invasive biomarkers after transplantation.