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Angiotensin II Blockade for Chronic Allograft Nephropathy

Angiotensin II Blockade for the Prevention of Cortical Interstitial Expansion and Graft Loss in Kidney Transplant Recipients

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00067990
Enrollment
153
Registered
2003-09-05
Start date
2002-12-31
Completion date
2011-06-30
Last updated
2017-09-18

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Kidney Disease, Proteinuria

Keywords

chronic allograft nephropathy, post transplant proteinuria

Brief summary

Chronic allograft nephropathy continues to be a major cause of kidney transplant loss and return to dialysis. Treatment options are limited and the course of the disease tends to be progressive. This trial is designed to prevent a major mediator of this process, namely the expansion of the cortical interstitial compartment of the kidney where most of the scarring occurs. The drug being studied, Losartan, has proven efficacious in a number of kidney diseases.

Detailed description

Renal transplant loss due to chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) is widely acknowledged as a major problem that has increased in relative importance as the incidence of early graft loss from acute rejection has declined. Studies from various centers, including the University of Minnesota, suggest that, after excluding patients dying with a functioning graft, as many as 80% of patients who will return to dialysis do so because of CAN. At the present time there are no therapeutic options once the clinical manifestations of CAN have developed. Testing measures to prevent CAN have not been addressed. The overall purpose of this project is to investigate the role of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) in the development of CAN. This system plays an important role in the progression of many experimental and clinical renal diseases. Furthermore, blockade of this system with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers has yielded beneficial results in retarding injury and progression in numerous intrinsic renal diseases. This study specifically investigates the long term benefit of the angiotensin II receptor blocker, losartan, in the prevention of cortical interstitial volume expansion (an accurate predictor of long term graft function) and graft loss from biopsy proven CAN in a 5 year, randomized, double masked, placebo controlled study of kidney transplant recipients. This clinical trial will directly test the hypothesis that blockade of the renin angiotensin aldosterone system will provide a substantial benefit through blood pressure lowering independent mechanisms, namely, interruption of fibrogenic pathways, anti-proteinuric actions, amelioration of hyperfiltration and possibly some immunomodulatory effects. The proposed studies will also characterize the interstitial ultrastructural compositional changes that occur in the renal allografts with CAN, the effects of treatment on these changes and provide a complete description of the incidence and predictors for the development of transplant glomerulopathy. These studies will also determine the impact of angiotensin II receptor blockade on the rate of decline of glomerular filtration rate, as well as the impact of glomerular size on the rate of graft loss from CAN, the incidence and the progression of post transplant proteinuria, the nature of the permselectivity defects responsible for the proteinuria and will also explore the association of proteinuria with graft loss from CAN. This trial will also help construct a profile for the RAAS in the transplant recipients and explore the relationship between two genes polymorphisms, ACE and TGF-Beta, and CAN. These studies should help to describe the natural history, nature and pathogenesis of CAN, elucidate early markers and predictors of this important disorder and, perhaps, define a safe and useful preventative strategy.

Interventions

DRUGLosartan 100mg

To be started within three months of transplant and continued for five years.

DRUGPlacebo

No treatment with continued follow-up for five years.

Sponsors

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
CollaboratorNIH
Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
University of Minnesota
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Age \> 18 years. * Recipients of a first or a second renal transplant alone or in combination with a pancreas transplantation. * Informed consent * Adequate baseline biopsy; at least 10 cortical projection fields.

Exclusion criteria

* Age \< 18 years. * Serum creatinine 2.5mg/dL. * Persistent hyperkalemia; potassium \> 5.4 mEq/L. * Known hypersensitivity to losartan or iodine allergy. * Documented renal artery stenosis by duplex ultrasonography. * Recipients of grafts from an HLA-identical sibling. * Recipients whose primary renal disease is primary hyperoxaluria,dense-deposit disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis or hemolytic uremic syndrome. * Women of childbearing age who wish to become pregnant and/or are unwilling to use contraceptive measures or who are pregnant. * Recipients requiring ACE inhibitors or AII blockers for a cardiovascular indication (e.g. systolic dysfunction). * Recipients who are \> 55 years old and had a history of cardiovascular disease (coronary artery disease, stroke or peripheral vascular disease).

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Doubling of Interstitium or Any ESRDBaseline to 5 yearsDoubling of the interstitial or any defined ESRD (including IF/TA)

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Number of Participants With Cortical Interstitial Volume Expansion or Any ESRDBaseline and 5 Years Post TransplantNumber of subjects who had doubling of the interstitial or any end stage renal disease (ESRD) not attributed to interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IF/TA)

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Losartan
within 3 months of transplantation
77
Placebo
within 3 months of transplantation
76
Total153

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000FG001
Overall StudyDeath57
Overall StudyESRD, Non IF/TA13
Overall StudyWithdrawal by Subject412

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicLosartanPlaceboTotal
Age, Continuous49.4 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 11.1
48.0 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 13.6
48.7 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 12.4
Cause of Native Kidney Disease
Diabetes mellitus
28 Participants29 Participants57 Participants
Cause of Native Kidney Disease
Hypertension
8 Participants2 Participants10 Participants
Cause of Native Kidney Disease
Other
28 Participants35 Participants63 Participants
Cause of Native Kidney Disease
Polycystic kidney disease
13 Participants10 Participants23 Participants
Donor Type
Cadaver Donor
24 Participants21 Participants45 Participants
Donor Type
Live Donor
53 Participants55 Participants108 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Not Available
11 Participants9 Participants20 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
White
66 Participants67 Participants133 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
30 Participants29 Participants59 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
47 Participants47 Participants94 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
2 / 770 / 76
other
Total, other adverse events
35 / 7742 / 76
serious
Total, serious adverse events
77 / 7776 / 76

Outcome results

Primary

Doubling of Interstitium or Any ESRD

Doubling of the interstitial or any defined ESRD (including IF/TA)

Time frame: Baseline to 5 years

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
LosartanDoubling of Interstitium or Any ESRD6 Participants
PlaceboDoubling of Interstitium or Any ESRD12 Participants
Secondary

Number of Participants With Cortical Interstitial Volume Expansion or Any ESRD

Number of subjects who had doubling of the interstitial or any end stage renal disease (ESRD) not attributed to interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IF/TA)

Time frame: Baseline and 5 Years Post Transplant

Population: Number of subjects who had baseline and exit biopsy samples that could be analyzed for doubling of cortical interstitial volume expansion or graft loss from IF/TA.

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
LosartanNumber of Participants With Cortical Interstitial Volume Expansion or Any ESRD7 Participants
PlaceboNumber of Participants With Cortical Interstitial Volume Expansion or Any ESRD15 Participants

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026