Kidney donors and kidney transplants have abnormal aminothiol redox status, and are at increased risk of oxidative stress and reduced redox buffer capacity

Abstract Objective Living kidney donors have been part of a successful kidney transplant programme in Norway for almost 50 years. Glomerular filtration rates (GFRs) have tended to remain stable at about 70% of pre-donation levels. Plasma total homocysteine (Hcy) has an inverse relationship to kidney function, and previous reports indicate elevated levels of Hcy in kidney donors. We wanted to examine the most important plasma aminothiols in kidney donors, i.e. Hcy, cysteine (Cys) and cysteinylglycine (CG) with their redox species. The aminothiol redox-system appears to be an integral part of the extracellular antioxidant defence system in the body. Design and methods Plasma concentrations of…