Urinary connective tissue growth factor is associated with human renal allograft fibrogenesis

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a key mediator of tissue fibrogenesis in kidney disease. Its involvement in renal allograft fibrosis was recently demonstrated in a mouse model.

We prospectively studied the association between urinary CTGF (CTGFu) levels and renal allograft fibrosis during the first 2 years after transplantation. Histologic and biochemical data were collected from 315 kidney transplant recipients enrolled in a protocol biopsy-based clinical program.

At 3, 12, and 24 months after transplantation, CTGFu levels were independently associated with the degree of interstitial fibrosis in protocol biopsies, scored according to the revised 1997 Banff criteria. In a subgroup of 164 patients with pristine biopsies at 3 months, higher CTGFu levels at 3 months were associated with moderate and severe interstitial fibrosis developed at 24 months after transplantation.

As it is readily quantifiable in urine, a role for CTGFu as a noninvasive candidate biomarker and predictor of human renal allograft fibrogenesis deserves further study.