Advancing kidney transplant outcomes: the role of urinary proteomics in graft function monitoring and rejection detection

INTRODUCTION: Kidney transplantation significantly improves the lives of those with end-stage kidney disease, offering best alternative to dialysis. However, transplant success is threatened by the acute and chronic rejection mechanisms due to complex immune responses against the new organ. AREAS COVERED: The ongoing research into biomarkers holds promise for revolutionizing the early detection and monitoring of the graft health. Liquid biopsy techniques offer a new avenue, with several diagnostic, predictive, and prognostic biomarkers showing promise in detecting and monitoring kidney diseases and an early and chronic allograft rejection. EXPERT OPINION: Evaluating the protein composition related to kidney transplant results could lead to identifying biomarkers that provide insights into the graft functionality. Non-invasive proteomic biomarkers can drastically enhance clinical outcomes and change the way how kidney transplants are evaluated for patients and physicians if they succeed in this transition. Hence, the advancement in proteomic technologies, leads toward a significant improvement in understanding of the protein markers and molecular mechanisms linked to the outcomes of kidney transplants. However, the road from discovery to the use of such proteins in clinical practice is long, with a need for continuous validation and beyond the singular research team with comprehensive infrastructure and across research groups collaboration.