The drugs that best protect against the rejection of a transplanted kidney cause damage to the organ itself through toxic side effects. As a result, the transplants survive for a shorter time. Therefore, a switch to a different immunosuppression is often attempted. However, only around half of those treated benefit from this and the rate of rejection also increases slightly.
With the help of kidney cells, which are excreted in urine, the scientists can use new methods to assess the extent of toxic damage and inflammation in the kidney. They want to use this to develop a biomarker for this issue. In the long term, this could also benefit lung, heart and liver transplant patients, who are currently also at risk of suffering kidney failure because of renal toxic therapy.