Elevated soluble cellular adhesion molecules are associated with increased mortality in a prospective cohort of renal transplant recipients

BACKGROUND: Increased plasma levels of cellular adhesion molecules (CAMs) have been shown to be predictors of all cause mortality in individuals with chronic renal failure [1,2] and patients with end-stage renal disease receiving haemodialysis [3]. In renal transplant recipients the predictive value of CAMs has not been well characterised. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between CAMs and all-cause mortality during prospective follow-up of a renal transplant cohort. METHODS: A total of 378 renal transplant recipients were recruited between June 2000 and December 2002. Soluble vascular CAM-1 (VCAM) and soluble intercellular CAM-1 (ICAM) were measured at baseline and prospective follow-up data was collected at a median of 2441 days after enrolment. RESULTS: In univariate survival analysis the renal transplant recipients with a VCAM or ICAM concentration in the lowest third were significantly more likely to have survived at follow-up (p < 0.001 and p = 0.009 respectively). In multivariate survival analysis VCAM and ICAM remained significant independent predictors of mortality following adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, hsCRP and estimated GFR (p = 0.030 and p = 0.037 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this prospective study are the first to show that the CAMs, ICAM and particularly VCAM, are significant independent predictors of mortality in patients with a renal transplant.