Serum human epididymis secretory protein 4 as a potential biomarker of renal fibrosis in kidney transplantation recipients

Renal fibrosis remains an important cause of kidney allograft failure. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of serum human epididymis secretory protein 4 (HE4) as a biomarker for renal fibrosis in kidney transplant recipients. A total of 103 kidney transplantation patients were enrolled in this study, and serum HE4 concentrations were detected using the chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. Renal biopsy was carried out, and histological findings were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Median serum HE4 concentrations were significantly increased in kidney transplant recipients (186.2 pmol/l, interquartile range [IQR] 125.6–300.2) compared with control subjects (34.3 pmol/l, IQR 30.4–42.3, p