A Promoter Polymorphism in the CD46 Complement Regulatory Protein Gene Is Associated With Acute Renal Allograft Rejection

Objectives: CD46 molecule (complement regulatory protein [CD46]), known as a human cell surface receptor, plays an important role in complement and T-cell regulation for organ transplantation. This study was performed to evaluate the association of promoter polymorphism (rs2796267, -496 A/G) of the CD46 gene with acute renal allograft rejection (AR), late acute rejection (LAR), and graft loss (GL) in Korean patients.

Methods: A total of 334 patients with kidney transplants were recruited. Transplantation outcomes were determined in terms of AR, LAR, and GL criteria. The promoter single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of CD46 was genotyped by direct sequencing.

Results: The rs2796267 SNP exhibited significant differences between the AR group and non-AR group (codominant1 model, P = .012; odds ratio [OR], 0.47 [95% confidence interval, 0.26-0.84]; dominant model, P = .012; OR, 0.50 [95% CI, 0.29-0.86]; and allele distribution, P = .034; OR, 0.64 [95% CI, 0.43-0.94]). In addition, the SNP also exhibited significant associations with LAR (codominant2 model, P = .041; OR, 0.12 [95% CI, 0.02-0.92]; recessive model, P = .005; OR, 0.13 [95% CI, 0.02-0.94]; and allele distribution, P = .038; OR, 0.58 [95% CI, 0.35-0.97]).

Conclusions: This study suggests that the promoter polymorphism (rs2796267, -496 A/G) CD46 gene may be related to susceptibility of AR in Korean kidney transplantation recipients.