Determination of epidermal growth factor(EGF)before and after kidney transplantation

In order to study the role of epidermal growth factor(EGF)in the repair of injured renal tissue and the relationship between EGF and the renal function or renal tissue after ischemia damage,the serum EGF(sEGF)level and urinary EGF(uEGF)level in 138 patients with chronic reanl failure(uremia stage)were determined before and after kidney transplantation.The results showed that the sEGF level in the period of chronic renal failure(CRF)and renal tissue damage was extremely low.In the early state of renal function recovery after transplantation,the uEGF level was obviously increased.In the post stage the uEGF level was slightly decreased,but was higher than before transplantation.The uncontinuous increase of uEGF level was related tO occurrence of the acute rejection or acute renal tubular necrosis.It was suggested that EGF might play an important role in the repair of injured renal tissue.The sEGF can be served as an indicator for the evaluation of the repair of transplanted renal damage. Key words: Kidney/transplantation; Epidermal growth factor