Purpose: Wnt signaling is an important pathway in kidney development and disease. We aimed to establish the levels of β-catenin expression in CD4+ T cells before and after renal transplantation and to associate it with the form of transplant type, rejection, and graft dysfunction.
Methods: CD4+ T cells were isolated from patients before and after kidney transplantation and their purity was confirmed by flow cytometer. RNA isolation and cDNA synthesis were carried out from these cells. The expression changes of the β-catenin were investigated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Changes in the β-catenin protein levels were determined by the western blot analysis.
Results: The increasing expression levels of β-catenin were detected in 60.8% of the patients 6 months after transplantation when compared to patients before transplantation result. 12 of these 14 patients had no graft rejection. It was observed that 11 of 14 patients with increased β-catenin expression had not graft dysfunction after the transplantation.
Conclusion: According to our results, the increased levels of β-catenin expression after transplantation may have a protective function for kidney survival. To understand this protective mechanism, further analysis of this signaling pathway is necessary.
Keywords: Graft dysfunction; Rejection; Transplantation; Wnt signaling; β-catenin.
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