Non-invasive biomarkers to guide management following renal transplantation: the need for a multiplatform approach

Balancing the level of anti-rejection therapy is the key challenge facing clinicians managing recipients of a solid organ transplant. Identification of biomarkers in non-invasive samples will allow serial monitoring which can prompt changes in therapy at an earlier stage without the need for invasive tests, and before significant damage to the graft or side effects have occurred. In this review we provide an update on the present status of such biomarker discovery in renal transplantation.

Previous studies focusing on candidate biomarkers have identified a number of genes that have the potential to identify patients undergoing rejection. Advances in technology now allow screening of samples for markers which have led to identification of further genes as well as adding microRNAs and proteins to the list. Similarly, by studying patients in whom anti-rejection therapy has been withdrawn, a gene signature for operational tolerance has been described.

It has become clear that to obtain a test suitable for clinical purposes, combinations of markers are required to identify specific clinical phenotypes. Identification and validation of such marker sets in large cohorts is urgently required to allow progression to clinical trials with the ultimate goal of offering recipients personalized anti-rejection therapy regimes.