Impact of gut microbiota on kidney transplantation

Kidney transplantation is recognized as one of the most effective treatments for patients who suffer from end-stage renal disease. The major potential outcomes following kidney transplantation include engraftment, rejection, and associated complications. The outcomes are dependent on a variety of factors in those who underwent renal grafts or kidney transplant recipients. Those factors include the administration of immunosuppressive drugs and prophylactic antimicrobial agents to recipients. Recent studies have shown that gut microbiota play an important role in the outcome of subjects with kidney transplantation. An imbalance of the components/diversity of gut microbiota, known as gut dysbiosis, has been shown to have a big impact on the immune system of the host and the modification of host inflammatory cytokines. Although gut dysbiosis is affected by variation in diet and medication, a substantial amount of evidence showing a link between alteration in human gut microbiota and outcomes of kidney transplantation has recently been reported. Therefore, the objective of this review is to comprehensively summarize and discuss the major findings from in vivo and clinical data pertaining to the impact of gut microbiota on kidney transplantation. Any controversial findings are compiled to enable a clear overview of the role of gut microbiota and the outcome of kidney transplantation.