Influence of ischaemia/reperfusion and LFA-1 inhibition on telomere lengths and CDKI genes in ex vivo haemoperfusion of primate kidneys.

The telomere (T) length, p21(WAF1/CIP1) and p27(Kip1) cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CDKI) genes are the markers of cell senescence and DNA damage. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of renal ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) and anti-lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment on the value of the above-mentioned markers. Significantly higher levels of p21 and p27 were expressed by the glomeruli (P=0.001 and P=0.0001), tubules (P=0.0065 and P=0.0006), and interstitial cells (P=0.0017 and P=0.0022, respectively) of the xenoperfused kidneys. The mean T length of non-perfused renal specimens (5.56+/-0.60 kbp) was longer than that of the xenoperfused kidneys (5.46+/-0.36 kbp) [P= non-significant (NS)]. Addition of anti-LFA-1 mAb did not significantly influence the gene expression profile in the xenoperfused kidneys. The mean T length was longer in the kidneys with anti-LFA-1 mAb than in those without the medication (5.7+/-0.11 vs 5.13+/-0.31 kbp) (P=0.0661). Kidney I/R is associated with telomere shortening and an over-expression of p21 and p27 CDKIs, which indicates substantial DNA damage and/or accelerated tissue senescence. Although anti-LFA-1 mAb had some protective effect on the telomeres, it did not influence the gene expression profile in this study.