No specific treatment for recurrent IgA nephropathy is currently available. However, Torin 1 ic50 three studies from Japan showed that a tonsillectomy improved clinical and histological damage in patients with IgA recurring after kidney transplantation.[7, 9, 10] Hotta et al.[7] suggested that tonsillectomy is an efficacious treatment for recurrent IgA nephropathy, especially in the mild or early stage. Recurrent IgA nephropathy can occur at any time after transplantation. The early detection of mesangial IgA deposition and IgA nephropathy

using long-term protocol biopsy may improve graft survival. Calcineurin inhibitors have long been the standard of care for immunosuppression after solid organ transplantation. However, CNI sometimes have adverse effects, including nephrotoxicity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, glucose intolerance and hirsutism.[11, 21] Chronic CNI-related nephrotoxicity occurs several months after renal transplantation and progresses with

time. The histological indicators of chronic CNI-induced nephrotoxicity are hyaline arteriolopathy, striped interstitial fibrosis, GDC-0199 purchase and tubular atrophy. In advanced cases, the entire wall is replaced by the hyaline material and the lumen is severely narrowed.[22] Both cyclosporine and tacrolimus produced similar fibrogenic effects in the kidney and a similar pattern of nephrotoxicity.[23] Assessment of long-term protocol biopsies is useful not only for detection of CNI nephrotoxicity, but also for follow-up after withdrawal of a CNI regimen. Despite several longer-term follow-up analyses of CNI withdrawal, few studies have investigated the long-term follow-up with protocol biopsies.[12, 23, 24] Previously, we showed that CNI withdrawal can be safely implemented in stable renal transplant recipients and might lead to improved patient outcomes. However, in the same study, we found no association between CNI withdrawal and improvement of the histological lesions.[24] Also, Naesens et al.[25] pointed that neither tacrolimus dose nor measures of systemic exposure Celecoxib were associated

with lesions of CNI nephrotoxicity. A recent retrospective study of low-dose cyclosporine therapy suggested that the CNI was not the only factor involved in the development of arteriolar hyalinosis.[12] CNI-based regimens remain our most widely used and powerful strategy, so further studies should focus on elucidation of additional specific evidence of CNI toxicity. BK polyomavirus nephropathy (BKVN) has a reported incidence of 1–10%. Although the prevalence is relatively low, activation of BKV has become an important cause of kidney transplant failure.[26, 27] Protocol biopsies may be a useful tool to detect viral infections such as BKVN because early diagnosis is necessary to resolve infection and prevent chronic damage. The importance of protocol biopsies in the diagnosis of BKVN was shown by Buehrig et al.