Pilot Study of Association of Catechol-O-Methyl Transferase rs4680 Genotypes With Acute Kidney Injury and Tubular Stress After Open Heart Surgery

Abstract

Aim

To assess the association of genetic variants of catecholamine-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotypes with acute kidney injury (AKI) and tubular stress after open heart surgery.

Patients & methods

We genotyped 195 patients for the COMT-Val158Met polymorphism and measured creatinine, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and midkine. We analyzed the association between such polymorphisms and these kidney-related variables.

Results

Nonsignificantly more COMT LL patients developed RIFLE-AKI compared with non-LL patients (p = 0.11). Compared with HL and HH patients, LL patients who developed AKI had lower increases in serum creatinine. COMT LL patients had less pronounced release of tubular stress biomarkers (neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin: p = 0.045, midkine: p = 0.072).

Conclusion

COMT genotype may associate with different patterns of renal functional changes and tubular stress biomarker release response after open heart surgery.

Keywords::

• acute kidney injury
• COMT
• midkine
• neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin
• NGAL
• open heart surgery
• rs4680
• tubular stress
• Val158Met SNP

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This study was funded by grants from the German Heart Foundation (Deutsche Stiftung für Herzforschung, Frankfurt a. M., Germany) and the Else Kroener-Fresenius-Stiftung (Bad Homburg, Germany). M Haase received lecture fees and travel cost reimbursements from Abbott Diagnostics, Astute Medical and Alere, with all companies being involved in the development of renal biomarkers. PR Mertens is funded by DFG grant Me1365/7-1 and SFB854. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by grants from the German Heart Foundation (Deutsche Stiftung für Herzforschung, Frankfurt a. M., Germany) and the Else Kroener-Fresenius-Stiftung (Bad Homburg, Germany). M Haase received lecture fees and travel cost reimbursements from Abbott Diagnostics, Astute Medical and Alere, with all companies being involved in the development of renal biomarkers. PR Mertens is funded by DFG grant Me1365/7-1 and SFB854. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.