Albumin redox state of maintenance haemodialysis patients is positively altered after treatment

Abstract Background and Aim Maintenance haemodialysis patients have increased morbidity and mortality which is mainly driven by an elevated inflammation level due to the uraemic milieu. A major part of this increased inflammation level is the degree of oxidative stress which can be assessed by albumin redox state (ARS). Aim of this study was to evaluate how the ARS is affected by a haemodialysis treatment and different dialyzer properties. Methods ARS was determined before and after haemodialysis treatment by fractionating it into reduced human mercaptalbumin (HMA), reversibly oxidized human non-mercaptalbumin 1 (HNA-1), and irreversibly oxidized human non-mercaptalbumin 2 (HNA-2) by high-performance liquid chromatography. In healthy individuals, albumin circulates in the following proportions: HMA 70–80%, HNA-1 20–30% and HNA-2 2–5%. High flux (FX 100 [Fresenius Medical Care], BG 1.8 [Toray], Xevonta Hi 18 [B. Braun], CTA-2000 [Kawasumi]) and low flux FX10 [Fresenius Medical Care] dialyzers were used. Results 58 patients (59% male, median age 68 years, median time on haemodialysis 32 month) were included in the study. Before haemodialysis treatment, HMA (median 55.9%, IQR 50.1–61.2%) was substantially lower than in healthy individuals. Accordingly, oxidized albumin fractions were above the level of healthy individuals (median HNA-1 38.5%, IQR 33.3–43.2%; median HNA-2 5.8%, IQR 5.1–6.7%). Before haemodialysis treatment HMA was significantly higher in patients usually treated with high flux membranes (p