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This report describes data collected by the Czech Registry of Renal Biopsies (CRRB).Twenty-eight centres provided data on all biopsies of native kidneys performed in the Czech Republic (population 10.3 million) over the period 1994-2000. Data on serum creatinine concentration (sCr), 24 h proteinuria, haematuria, serum albumin level, arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, histological diagnosis and complications after renal biopsy were collected.Altogether 4004 biopsies in 3874 patients were performed (males 57.9%, childrenor = 15 years 17.7%, elderly60 years 14.3%). Microhaematuria was present in 65.9%, macrohaematuria in 9.2%, nephrotic proteinuria (or = 3.5 g/24 h) in 39.3%, and low-grade proteinuria (3.5 g/24 h) in 41.4%. Among adults, hypertension was present in 45.2%, mild renal insufficiency in 23% (sCr 111-200 micromol/l) and advanced renal insufficiency in 13.7% (sCr 201-400), while 11.5% of patients had sCr400 micromol/l. The most frequent renal diseases were primary (59.8%) and secondary (25.4%) glomerulonephritis (GN). Tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN) was observed in 4.4% and hypertensive nephroangiosclerosis in 3.4%. The samples were non-diagnostic in 4.6%. Among primary GNs, the most frequent diagnoses were: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) 34.5%, minimal change disease (MCD) 12.4%, non-IgA mesangioproliferative GN (MesGN) 11.3%, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) 10.8% and membranous GN (MGN) 9.3%. Among secondary GNs, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) represented 23.0%, necrotizing vasculitis (NV) 15.5%, Henoch-Schonlein purpura 5.7%, thin basement membrane glomerulopathy (TBN) 19.3%, Alport syndrome 6.9%, renal amyloidosis 9.9% and myeloma kidney 2.9%. Among children, the most common were IgAN (19.2%), MCD (17.6%) and TBM glomerulopathy (12.3%), while among the elderly the most common were MGN (11.0%), NV (10.7%) and amyloidosis (9.6%). The most common in patients with nephrotic proteinuria were MCD (50.5%) among children, but IgAN (24.6%) in adults aged 16-60 years and MGN (16.8%) among the elderly. IgAN (21.3%) and FSGS (8.3%) were the most common diagnoses among patients with mild renal insufficiency, but TIN (11.6%) and NV (11.3%) were the most common in more advanced renal insufficiency. Since 1999, diabetic patients represented 12.2% of adults, with mean proteinuria 8.9 g/24 h; diabetic glomerulosclerosis was found in 42.4% (with microhaematuria present in 66%) and non-diabetic renal diseases in 47.5% (IgAN in 17.5%, MGN and NAS in 11.1% and NV in 9.5%). The mean annual incidence (per million population) was: primary GN 32.4, secondary GN 13.8, IgAN 11.2, MCD 4.0, MesGN 3.7, FSGS 3.5, SLE 3.2, MGN 3.0, TBM 2.7, TIN 2.4 and NV 2.1. Ultrasound needle guidance was used in 56%, preferably in children (79%). The frequency of serious complications (gross haematuria, symptomatic haematoma, blood transfusion) remained at 3%.The CRRB provides important data on the epidemiology of GN based on a whole country population.

Progression of chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) is associated with a progressive decrease in graft function. Prediction of the Banff CAN grade on the basis of correlation between the grade of histological changes and Scr is difficult because of the big spread of individual values. This study sought to predict the Banff CAN grade based on Scr, Ccr and proteinuria using ROC analysis.Graft protocol biopsy and functional testing (Scr, Ccr and proteinuria) were performed in 77 subjects (43 men, 34 women, mean age 48.4 +/- 12.8 years) at 33.8 +/- 1.0 months after their first renal transplantation. Immunosuppression was provided with the triple combination of cyclosporin A, prednisone and azathioprine (or mycophenolate mofetil). Statistical evaluation was performed using receiver-operating curve (ROC) analysis. The cut-off value of the Banff CAN score was set at 1.The mean values and SD of the investigated functional parameters in study subjects were as follows: Scr = 201.5 (+/- 100.0) mumol/l Ccr = 48.1 (+/- 21.2) ml/min/1.73 m2, proteinuria = 0.89 (+/- 1.96) g/24 h. ROC analysis showed the highest AUC (+/- SEM) for Scr 0.806 (+/- 0.063). The respective values were 0.790 (+/- 0.053) for Ccr and 0.643 (+/- 0.075) for proteinuria. The AUC (area under the ROC curve) for Scr was significantly higher (P0.043) compared with proteinuria. The values for sensitivity (specificity) were as follows: Scr 65.0 (91.2). Ccr 75.0 (82.5), proteinuria 60.0 (68.4). The best fit values (best combination of sensitivity and specificity) were 257.2 umol/l for Scr, 33.6 ml/min/1.73 m2 for Ccr and 0.40 g/24 hr for proteinuria.Our findings support the assumption that Scr275 mumol/l and Ccr33.6 ml/min/1.73 m2 suggest a Banff CAN grade higher than 1 (P0.001). Proteinuria had the lowest predictive values. Values0.40 g/24 hr were probably associated with a Banff CAN grade higher than 1 (p0.05).

Cell adhesion molecules and their ligands are essential for regulating lymphocyte recirculation and leucocyte emigration into an inflamed or injured tissue. Vascular endothelial selectins as mediators of leucocyte rolling and intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) have been found to be up-regulated on activated endothelium during acute allograft rejection. This study was designed to investigate whether ICAM-1 or selectin-ligand deficiency, or a combination of both, affected graft survival during acute cardiac allograft rejection. To this goal, we performed cardiac transplantation using mice deficient in genes for ICAM-1 or α(1,3)fucosyltransferase Fuc-TVII, representing a model for general absence of selectin-ligand expression, and a newly developed strain with a double mutation in Fuc-TVII and ICAM-1 alleles. Transplantation of a heart from ICAM-1 −/− or Fuc-TVII/ICAM-1 double-mutated mice into allogeneic recipients resulted in limited (2–2.5 days) but nevertheless significant prolongation of the graft survival (P