Endogenous intronic antisense long non-coding RNA, MGAT3-AS1, and kidney transplantation

β-1,4-mannosylglycoprotein 4-β-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (MGAT3) is a key molecule for the innate immune system. We tested the hypothesis that intronic antisense long non-coding RNA, MGAT3-AS1, can predict delayed allograft function after kidney transplantation. We prospectively assessed kidney function and MGAT3-AS1 in 129 incident deceased donor kidney transplant recipients before and after transplantation. MGAT3-AS1 levels were measured in mononuclear cells using qRT-PCR. Delayed graft function was defined by at least one dialysis session within 7 days of transplantation. Delayed graft function occurred in 22 out of 129 transplant recipients (17%). Median MGAT3-AS1 after transplantation was significantly lower in patients with delayed graft function compared to patients with immediate graft function (6.5 × 10^-6, IQR 3.0 × 10^-6 to 8.4 × 10^-6; vs. 8.3 × 10^-6, IQR 5.0 × 10^-6 to 12.8 × 10^-6; p < 0.05). The median preoperative MGAT3-AS1 was significantly lower in kidney recipients with delayed graft function (5.1 × 10^-6, IQR, 2.4 × 10^-6 to 6.8 × 10^-6) compared to recipients with immediate graft function (8.9 × 10^-6, IQR, 6.8 × 10^-6 to 13.4 × 10^-6; p < 0.05). Receiver-operator characteristics showed that preoperative MGAT3-AS1 predicted delayed graft function (area under curve, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.65 to 1.00; p < 0.01). We observed a positive predictive value of 0.57, and a negative predictive value of 0.95. Long non-coding RNA, MGAT3-AS1, indicates short-term outcome in patients with deceased donor kidney transplantation.