Orals

Introduction: Hypothermic machine perfusion improves outcomes fromkidney transplantation, and molecular analyses of hypothermic machineperfusate (HMP) have the potential to identify biomarkers of organ viabilityprior to transplantation. Effective prediction of organ-specific outcomes prior totransplantation offers enormous advantages to the transplant surgeon, andmay increase the organ donor pool by allowing use of the ever-increasing‘extended criteria donors (ECD)’. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have considerablepotential for use as biomarkers of numerous pathological processes, includingkidney disease. Our previous analysis of urine samples from renal transplantpatients with delayed graft function identified miRNAs miR-10a, -21, -29a, -221and -429 as potential biomarkers of kidney injury. This study aimed todetermine if expression of these miRNAs predicted early transplant outcomes.Methods: HMP samples were taken after 15 min, 1 and 2 h of perfusion for11 kidneys (ECD/DCD) placed on the LifePortprior to transplantation.Following RNA extraction using miRNeasy Mini Kits (Qiagen), cDNA wasgenerated using the High Capacity Reverse Transcription kit (Life Technolo-gies) and RT-qPCR was carried out using specific TaqMan microRNAdetection assays (Life Technologies). Clinical data including demographicsand eGFR at 6 months post transplantation were collected.Results: MiRNAs were readily detected and found to be stable in the HMPmedium from the 11 kidneys (ECD/DCD) included in this study. Expression ofmiR-10a, -21, -29a, -221 and -429 in HMP after 1 h of perfusion correlatedsignificantly with eGFR at 6 months post transplantation.Conclusion: MicroRNAs are emerging as important biomarkers in thecontext of kidney injury and transplantation. This study shows that expressionmiR-10a, -21, -29a, -221 and -429 in HMP is predictive of early outcomesfollowing kidney transplantation. Further studies are underway to confirm thesein larger cohorts