Masaki T, Gilson J, Leypoldt J K, Cheung A K
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Department of Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, USA.
Nephrol Dial Transplant. 1999 May;14(5):1176-81. doi: 10.1093/ndt/14.5.1176.
Increases in plasma anaphylatoxins frequently are used as an index of haemodialysis membrane biocompatibility; however, their plasma levels may be influenced by the loss of anaphylatoxins into the dialysate compartment.
We compared the generation and compartmental distribution of anaphylatoxins, C3a and C5a, in a high flux and a low flux polysulfone membrane dialyser when whole human blood was recirculated through an in vitro haemodialysis circuit.
Plasma C3a levels in high flux polysulfone (2.31 +/- 0.81 microg/ml) and low flux polysulfone (3.02 +/- 0.98 microg/ml) dialysers were comparable after 120 min (P = NS). In contrast, dialysate C3a in high flux polysulfone (0.65 +/- 0.31 microg/ml) accounted for 37.5 +/- 7.0% of the total detected (plasma + dialysate) C3a mass in the dialysers, while dialysate C3a in low flux polysulfone dialysers (0.01 +/- 0.01 microg/ml) accounted for only 0.3 +/- 0.3% of the total mass (P < 0.05; high flux vs low flux). Anaphylatoxin C5a was undetectable in the dialysate compartment of either dialyser examined.
Our results indicate that anaphylatoxins readily traverse certain high flux dialysis membranes; consequently, plasma C3a levels may not accurately reflect the C3-activating potential of these membranes.
