Smaller caliber renal arteries are a novel feature of uromodulin-associated kidney disease

Hyperuricemia is very common in industrialized countries and known to promote vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. Juvenile hyperuricemia is a hallmark of uromodulin-associated kidney disease characterized by progressive interstitial renal fibrosis leading to end-stage renal disease within decades. Here we describe a member of a Polish-German family with a history of familial background of chronic kidney disease, hyperuricemia, and gout. This patient had hypertension because of bilateral small renal arteries, hyperuricemia, and chronic kidney disease. Clinical and molecular studies were subsequently performed in 39 family members, which included a physical examination, Duplex ultrasound of the kidneys, laboratory tests for renal function, and urine analysis. In eight family members contrast-enhanced renal artery imaging by computed tomography-angiography or magnetic resonance imaging was conducted and showed that bilateral non-arteriosclerotic small caliber renal arteries were associated with hyperuricemia and chronic kidney disease. Of the 26 family members who underwent genotyping, 11 possessed the P236R mutation (c.707C>G) of the uromodulin gene. All family members with a small caliber renal artery carried the uromodulin P236R mutation. Statistical analysis showed a strong correlation between reduced renal artery lumen and decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate. Thus, bilateral small caliber renal arteries are a new clinical phenotype associated with an uromodulin mutation.