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OBJECTIVES Acute kidney injury (AKI) following surgery involving the heart-lung-machine is associated with high mortality and morbidity. In addition to the known mechanisms, thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) triggered by the dysregulation of complement activation was recently described as another pathophysiological pathway for AKI following aortic surgery. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyse incidence, predictors and outcome in these patients. METHODS Between January 2018 and September 2019, consecutive patients undergoing aortic surgery requiring hypothermic circulatory arrest were retrospectively reviewed. If suspected, diagnostic algorithm was initiated to identify a TMA and its risk factors, and postoperative outcome parameters were comparably investigated. RESULTS The incidence of TMA in the analysed cohort (n = 247) was 4.5%. Multivariable logistic regression indicated female gender {odds ratio (OR) 4.905 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.234–19.495], P = 0.024} and aortic valve replacement [OR 8.886 (95% CI 1.030–76.660), P = 0.047] as independent predictors of TMA, while cardiopulmonary bypass, X-clamp and hypothermic circulatory arrest times showed no statistically significance. TMA resulted in postoperative AKI (82%), neurological disorders (73%) and thrombocytopaenia [31 (interquartile range 25–42) G/l], corresponding to the diagnostic criteria. Operative mortality and morbidity were equal to patients without postoperative TMA, despite a higher incidence of re-exploration for bleeding (27 vs 6%; P = 0.027). After 6 months, survival, laboratory parameters and need for dialysis were comparable between the groups. CONCLUSIONS TMA is a potential differential diagnosis for the cause of AKI following aortic surgery regardless of the hypothermic circulatory arrest time. Timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment resulted in a comparable outcome concerning mortality and renal function.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiovascular surgery (CVS) infers high morbidity and mortality and may be caused by thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA). This study aimed to assess incidence, risk factors, kidney function, and mortality of patients with a postoperative TMA as possible cause of severe AKI following cardiovascular surgery. Methods: We analyzed retrospectively all patients admitted to the ICU after a cardiovascular procedure between 01/2018 and 03/2019 with severe AKI and need for renal replacement therapy (RRT). TMA was defined as post-surgery-AKI including need for RRT, hemolytic anemia, and thrombocytopenia. TMA patients were compared to patients with AKI requiring RRT without TMA. Results: Out of 893 patients, 69 (7.7%) needed RRT within one week after surgery due to severe AKI. Among those, 15 (21.7%) fulfilled TMA criteria. Aortic surgery suggested an increased risk for TMA (9/15 (60.0%) vs. 7/54 (31.5%), OR 3.26, CI 1.0013-10.64). Ten TMA patients required plasmapheresis and/or eculizumab, and five recovered spontaneously. Preoperative kidney function was significantly better in TMA patients than in controls (eGFR 92 vs. 60.5 mL/min, p = 0.004). However, postoperative TMA resulted in a more pronounced GFR loss (&Delta, eGFR &minus, 54 vs. &minus, 17 mL/min, p = 0.062). There were no deaths in the TMA group. Conclusion: Our findings suggest TMA as an important differential diagnosis of severe AKI following cardiovascular surgery, which may be triggered by aortic surgery. Therefore, early diagnosis and timely treatment of TMA could reduce kidney damage and improve mortality of AKI following cardiovascular surgery, which should be further investigated.

Primary/secondary hyperoxalurias involve nephrocalcinosis-related chronic kidney disease (CKD) leading to end-stage kidney disease. Mechanistically, intrarenal calcium oxalate crystal deposition is thought to elicit inflammation, tubular injury and atrophy, involving the NLRP3 inflammasome. Here, we found that mice deficient in NLRP3 and ASC adaptor protein failed to develop nephrocalcinosis, compromising conclusions on nephrocalcinosis-related CKD. In contrast, hyperoxaluric wild-type mice developed profound nephrocalcinosis. NLRP3 inhibition using the β-hydroxybutyrate precursor 1,3-butanediol protected such mice from nephrocalcinosis-related CKD. Interestingly, the IL-1 inhibitor anakinra had no such effect, suggesting IL-1-independent functions of NLRP3. NLRP3 inhibition using 1,3-butanediol treatment induced a shift of infiltrating renal macrophages from pro-inflammatory (CD45+F4/80+CD11b+CX3CR1+CD206-) and pro-fibrotic (CD45+F4/80+CD11b+CX3CR1+CD206+TGFβ+) to an anti-inflammatory (CD45+F4/80+CD11b+CD206+TGFβ-) phenotype, and prevented renal fibrosis. Finally, in vitro studies with primary murine fibroblasts confirmed the non-redundant role of NLRP3 in the TGF-β signaling pathway for fibroblast activation and proliferation independent of the NLRP3 inflammasome complex formation. Thus, nephrocalcinosis-related CKD involves NLRP3 but not necessarily via intrarenal IL-1 release but rather via other biological functions including TGFR signaling and macrophage polarization. Hence, NLRP3 may be a promising therapeutic target in hyperoxaluria and nephrocalcinosis.

Intrarenal crystals trigger inflammation and renal cell necroptosis, processes that involve TNF receptor (TNFR) signaling. Here, we tested the hypothesis that TNFRs also have a direct role in tubular crystal deposition and progression of hyperoxaluria-related CKD. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed upregulated tubular expression of TNFR1 and TNFR2 in human and murine kidneys with calcium oxalate (CaOx) nephrocalcinosis-related CKD compared with controls. Western blot and mRNA expression analyses in mice yielded consistent data. When fed an oxalate-rich diet, wild-type mice developed progressive CKD, whereas Tnfr1-, Tnfr2-, and Tnfr1/2-deficient mice did not. Despite identical levels of hyperoxaluria, Tnfr1-, Tnfr2-, and Tnfr1/2-deficient mice also lacked the intrarenal CaOx deposition and tubular damage observed in wild-type mice. Inhibition of TNFR signaling prevented the induced expression of the crystal adhesion molecules, CD44 and annexin II, in tubular epithelial cells in vitro and in vivo, and treatment with the small molecule TNFR inhibitor R-7050 partially protected hyperoxaluric mice from nephrocalcinosis and CKD. We conclude that TNFR signaling is essential for CaOx crystal adhesion to the luminal membrane of renal tubules as a fundamental initiating mechanism of oxalate nephropathy. Furthermore, therapeutic blockade of TNFR might delay progressive forms of nephrocalcinosis in oxalate nephropathy, such as primary hyperoxaluria.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) research is limited by the lack of convenient inducible models mimicking human CKD and its complications in experimental animals. We demonstrate that a soluble oxalate-rich diet induces stable stages of CKD in male and female C57BL/6 mice. Renal histology is characterized by tubular damage, remnant atubular glomeruli, interstitial inflammation, and fibrosis, with the extent of tissue involvement depending on the duration of oxalate feeding. Expression profiling of markers and magnetic resonance imaging findings established to reflect inflammation and fibrosis parallel the histological changes. Within 3 wk, the mice reproducibly develop normochromic anemia, metabolic acidosis, hyperkalemia, FGF23 activation, hyperphosphatemia, and hyperparathyroidism. In addition, the model is characterized by profound arterial hypertension as well as cardiac fibrosis that persist following the switch to a control diet. Together, this new model of inducible CKD overcomes a number of previous experimental limitations and should serve useful in research related to CKD and its complications.