Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar 6;10(5):1562-1565.
doi: 10.1016/j.ekir.2025.02.029. eCollection 2025 May.

Lymphocyte Transformation Test: A Promising Tool for Identifying the Causative Agent in Drug-Induced Acute Interstitial Nephritis

Javier Azores Moreno  1 , Rosario Cabañas  2 , Teresa Bellón  3 , Eugenia García Fernández  4 , Irene Vázquez Raso  1 , Sara Aldana  1 , María Maldonado  5 , Lina León-Machado  5 , Amir Shabaka  5 , Begoña Rivas Becerra  5 , Cristina Vega Cabrera  5 , Gema Fernández Juárez  5
Affiliations

Lymphocyte Transformation Test: A Promising Tool for Identifying the Causative Agent in Drug-Induced Acute Interstitial Nephritis

Javier Azores Moreno et al. Kidney Int Rep. .
No abstract available

Keywords: acute interstitial nephritis; drug-induced; immune checkpoint inhibitor; lymphocyte transformation test.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Proposed models for D-AIN related to immunotherapy. In proposed model 1, immunotherapy (pembrolizumab) directly induces the activation of T lymphocytes, which become sensitized against it, either on their own or via drug hapten molecules that are internalized into renal tubular cells and processed by antigen-presenting cells. These cells present the antigen to mature T lymphocytes in the renal interstitium, activating them, or they migrate to lymph nodes to present the antigen to naïve T lymphocytes, transforming them into activated T cells. In proposed model 2, immunotherapy (pembrolizumab, anti-PD1) causes previously sensitized T lymphocytes against a drug in a latent state (because of the PD1-PDL1/2 interaction) to lose their tolerance. This leads to secondary activation (via the second signal CD80/86 with CD28) and direct cytotoxic T cel–-mediated damage to renal cells expressing the antigen. D-AIN, drug-induced acute interstitial nephritis; PD1, programmed cell death protein 1; PDL1, programmed-death ligand 1.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Fernandez-Juarez G., Perez J.V., Caravaca-Fontán F., et al. Duration of treatment with corticosteroids and recovery of kidney function in acute interstitial nephritis. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2018;13:1851–1858. doi: 10.2215/CJN.01390118. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cortazar F.B., Marrone K.A., Troxell M.L., et al. Clinicopathological features of acute kidney injury associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Kidney Int. 2016;90:638–647. doi: 10.1016/j.kint.2016.04.008. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Seethapathy H., Zhao S., Chute D.F., et al. The incidence, causes, and risk factors of acute kidney injury in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2019;14:1692–1700. doi: 10.2215/CJN.00990119. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Herrmann S.M., Perazella M.A. Immune checkpoint inhibitors and immune-related adverse renal events. Kidney Int Rep. 2020;5:1139–1148. doi: 10.1016/j.ekir.2020.04.018. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sprangers B., Leaf D.E., Porta C., Soler M.J., Perazella M.A. Diagnosis and management of immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated acute kidney injury. Nat Rev Nephrol. 2022;18:794–805. doi: 10.1038/s41581-022-00630-8. - DOI - PubMed