An observational study in Liver Transplant, Hepatitis C and Chronic Kidney Disease, sponsored by Northwestern University. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-22.
Sponsored by Northwestern University · Observational
This study is being done to test blood, urine and tissue samples to see if this can help decide if CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease), AR (Acute Rejection) and HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) can be identified in its early stages. CKD damage to the kidneys, AR and HCV all lower the body's ability to function properly. Early detection of these conditions could assist with successful treatment and possibly lead to less repeat organ transplants.
With the advent of more sensitive molecular techniques, biomarkers of kidney transplant rejection have been proposed that are potentially much more sensitive, specific and rapidly testable than conventional predictors of graft function such as GFR or tissue biopsies. Some of the early biomarkers during this evolution were the Cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) transcripts like perforin, granzyme B and fas ligand 11-13 for acute rejection. In the case of CAN/IFTA and CKD the molecular mechanisms and testable biomarkers also remain unclear. A few studies have reported the involvement of TGF-beta, extracellular matrix proteins like fibronectin and thrombopondin and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteins (TIMPs) as being upregulated in patients with Chronic Allograft Nephropathy (CAN/IFTA). Most of these studies were done in kidney transplant biopsies and the challenge of testing their expression and correlation in PBL as a minimally invasive tool was only addressed in a few studies. Another limitation of these first studies was the lack of the power to profile genes globally. To this end the advent of DNA microarrays has brought about a quantum leap in the ability to profile thousands of genes simultaneously. Thus far, microarray analysis has been reported in kidney transplant studies implicating gene signatures for acute rejection in transplant biopsies as well as for the first time by us in peripheral blood. To our knowledge only two studies have tried to profile CAN/IFTA in peripheral blood. A recent study attempted to validate three genes that were derived from a microarray analysis of kidney biopsies using RT-qPCR. All three genes were significantly differentially expressed in urine but not in PBL. Another study using microarrays showed that among a panel of 49 peripheral blood genes that were purported to distinguish "operational tolerance" in kidney rejection, 33 genes could also distinguish "chronic rejection" with 86% specificity.
Most of the studies in the literature, including our own, as well as our more recent unpublished peripheral blood gene expression studies of AR and CAN/IFTA reveal clear molecular signatures for both these forms of transplant outcomes. In sum, these data establish a first proof of concept that peripheral blood gene expression profiling can be used to develop markers of kidney allograft rejection and chronic kidney injury.
1,743 studies on the registry are indexed under Hepatitis C; 97 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 1,000 is above the median of 218 across 435 observational studies indexed under Hepatitis C.
Browse Hepatitis C studies →Northwestern University is the lead sponsor of 1,423 studies on the registry; 198 are open to participants now.
Of its 105 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 78 (74%) have results posted.
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The intention of our biomarker panel is to be broadly applicable to all patients with liver transplant with the assumption that there are common underlying molecular mechanisms of CKD and AR (and HCV) that can be detected hopefully at early stages of disease. We therefore want to validate and test our biomarker panel in a broad collection of patient types.
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Exclusion Criteria:
1. Inability or unwillingness of a participant and/or guardian to provide .
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Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Proteogenomic Biomarkers for CKD, AR and HCV
To validate specific proteogenomic biomarker panels for CKD and AR (and HCV) in a prospective serial blood and urine monitoring study of liver transplant recipients
Time frame: At time of liver biopsy
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