Anti-erythropoietin antibody level in maintenance dialysis patients and its clinical significance / 中华肾脏病杂志

Objective To investigate the anti-erythropoietin antibody level and its clinical significance in maintenance dialysis patients. Methods Eighty maintenance hemodialysis (HD) and 30 peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients were enrolled in the study. Serum anti-erythropoietin antibody levels of above 110 dialysis patients were measured by ELISA. Immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (iPTH), Scr, BUN, Hb, and CRP were determined by conventional methods at the same time. Correlations among these indexes were examined. Results The anti-erythropoietin antibody levels of the dialysis patients were significantly higher than those of healthy people (P＜0.05), but no significant difference was found between HD patients and PD patients. There were no significant differences of anti-erythropoietin antibody, Hb, BUN, Scr, iPTH and CRP among different primary diseases. Hb was negatively correlated with anti-erythropoietin antibody and CRP (r=-0.56, -0.20,P ＜0.05), but was not correlated with BUN, Scr, iPTH. There was no correlation of antierythropoietin antibody with BUN, Scr, CRP and iPTH. One patient receiving recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) treatment with anti-erythropoietin antibody 43.63 U/L developed pure red cell aplasia diagnosed by marrow biopsy. Conclusions The anti-erythropoietin antibody levels of the dialysis patients are significantly higher as compared to healthy people, but are not significantly different between HD and PD patients. Anti-erythropoietin antibody is not correlated with BUN, Scr,iPTH and CRP. Hb is negatively correlated with anti-erythropoietin antibody and CRP. The rHuEPO can induce the anti-erythropoietin antibody leading to pure red cell aplasia in dialysis patients.

Acquired Pure Red Cell Aplasia due to Anti-Erythropoietin Antibodies in a Patient Undergoing Hemodialysis

A 63-year-old man was placed on hemodialysis for the end-stage of renal disease secondary to renal artery stenosis. He was also regularly given epoetin, subcutaneously, for anemia associated with his renal disease. Rapidly progressing erythropoietin (EPO) resistant anemia and reticulocytopenia developed after 1 year of hemodialysis. The patient required frequent red blood cell transfusions. The bone marrow examination demonstrated selective erythroid hypoplasia. A detailed search for the cause of the erythroblastopenia revealed nothing, with the exception of anti-EPO antibodies (Ab). Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) was suspected due to the anti-EPO Ab. With the immunosuppressive agent and change to the epoetin-therapy, the patient recovered his hemoglobin and reticulocyte counts. Particular attention should be paid for the possibility of PRCA due to anti-EPO Ab in patients undergoing rHuEPO therapy, with an unexplained recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) resistant anemia, especially via the subcutaneous route.