Measurements of cortical interstitium in biopsies from human kidney grafts: how representative and how reproducible?

Anne Ringer Ellingsen, Jens Randel Nyengaard, Ruth Østerby, Kaj Anker Jørgensen, Steffen Ellebaek Petersen, Niels Marcussen

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to evaluate how well a biopsy from one region of a human renal allograft represented biopsies from other regions regarding the renal interstitial tissue assessed by stereology. Furthermore, we wanted to evaluate the reproducibility of the measurements.

METHODS: Punch biopsies (3 mm) from six regions in each kidney were obtained from seven explanted renal grafts with varying degrees of clinically diagnosed chronic and acute rejection. One kidney, removed for a minor pelvic tumour, served as reference material. Using point counting on PAS-stained sections, the volume fraction of the interstitial tissue per glomerular cortex V(V)(interstitium/cortex) was estimated. From each kidney, two of the six biopsies were re-evaluated by the same observer.

RESULTS: V(V)(interstitium/cortex) varied from 0.25 to 0.78 between the explanted kidneys vs 0.26 in the reference kidney. Variations within the kidneys were low, expressed by standard deviations (SD) of between 0.04 and 0.06, and coefficients of variation (CV) between 0.06 and 0.22. The SD estimated from repeated measurements was 0.04 and CV was 0.07.

CONCLUSIONS: Biopsies from one region of the kidney were found to be representative for estimates of interstitial tissue in explanted human kidney grafts, and the degree of reproducibility was high when using point counting, as in the present study.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNephrology Dialysis Transplantation
Volume17
Issue5
Pages (from-to)788-92
Number of pages5
ISSN0931-0509
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2002

Keywords

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Biopsy
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Kidney/pathology
  • Kidney Cortex/pathology
  • Kidney Transplantation
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Reproducibility of Results

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