Identification of genetic loci associated with renal dysfunction after lung transplantation using an ethnic-specific single-nucleotide polymorphism array

Renal dysfunction is a long-term complication associated with an increased mortality after lung transplantation (LT). We investigated the association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with the development of renal dysfunction after LT using a Japanese-specific SNP array. First, eligible samples of 34 LT recipients were genotyped using the SNP array and divided into two groups, according to the presence of homozygous and heterozygous combinations of mutant alleles of the 126 renal-related SNPs. To identify candidate SNPs, the renal function tests were compared between the two groups for each SNP. Next, we investigated the association between the candidate SNPs and the time course of changes of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in the 99 recipients until 10 years after the LT. ΔeGFR was defined as the difference between the postoperative and preoperative eGFR values. Eight SNPs were identified as the candidate SNPs in the 34 recipients. Validation analysis of these 8 candidate SNPs in all the 99 recipients showed that three SNPs, namely, rs10277115, rs4690095, and rs792064, were associated with significant changes of the ΔeGFR. Pre-transplant identification of high-risk patients for the development of renal dysfunction after LT based on the presence of these SNPs might contribute to providing personalized medicine.