An attention mechanism-based LSTM network for cancer kinase activity prediction.

Despite the endeavours and achievements made in treating cancers during the past decades, resistance to available kinase drugs continues to be a major problem in cancer therapies. Thus, it is highly desirable to develop computational models that can predict the bioactivity of a compound against cancer kinases. Here, we present a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) framework for predicting the activities of lead molecules against seven different kinases. A total of 14,907 compounds from the ChEMBL database were selected for model building. Two different molecular representations, namely, 2D descriptors and MACCS fingerprints were subjected to the LSTM method for the training process. We also successfully integrated an attention mechanism into our model, which helped us to interpret the contribution of chemical features on kinase activity. The attention mechanism extracted the significant chemical moieties more effectively by taking them into consideration during the activity prediction. The recorded accuracies in the test sets for both 2D descriptors and MACCS fingerprints-based models were 0.81 and 0.78, respectively. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC)-area under the curve (AUC) score for both models was in the range of 0.8-0.99. The proposed framework can be a good starting point for the development of new cancer kinase drugs.

Changes in Bone Mineral Density After Kidney Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have shown that osteoporosis is common in kidney transplant recipients. However, the change in bone mineral density after kidney transplantation (KT) is not fully understood. METHODS: Thirty-nine kidney transplant recipients with bone densitometry at pretransplant and 24 months after KT were reviewed. RESULTS: The recipients' median age (44.5 ± 10.7 years) and dialysis duration before KT (4.2 ± 3.4 years) were recorded. The T-scores of the lumbar spine and femur neck at 24 months after KT were positively associated with the respective pretransplant T-score (P < .001 in the lumbar spine and P < .001 in the femur neck). However, the T-score after KT did not show significant change (P = .680 in lumbar spine, P = .093 in femur neck). Changes in the T-scores of the lumbar spine and femur neck over 24 months (delta T-score) were negatively associated with the respective pretransplant T-scores (P = .001 in lumbar spine, P = .026 in femur neck). Changes in the T-scores of the lumbar spine and femur neck over 24 months (delta T-score) were also associated with the pretransplant T-scores after the adjustment of other variables. CONCLUSION: The change of bone mineral density was related with pretransplant bone mineral density. Careful follow-up of bone densitometry for KT recipients was needed.

Suspected Frequent Relapsing IgG4-related Lung Disease in Kidney Transplant Patient: A Case Report.

Besides the initial description of IgG4-related pancreatic disease, other sites are now commonly involved. However, occurrence of IgG4-related disease is rare in organ transplanted patients. A 57-year-old man who received a kidney transplantation presented with recurrent dyspnea on exertion. A computed tomography scan of the chest revealed bilateral interlobular septal thickening and multiple tubular and branching small nodular lesions in the right upper lobe, and mass-like consolidation of the left middle lobe. Despite no elevation of serum IgG4 level, a percutaneous core needle biopsy on consolidative mass showed interstitial fibrosis and infiltration of IgG4-positive plasma cells to be more than > 20 per high power field. After treatment with glucocorticoids and rituximab, the consolidative mass of the left middle lobe disappeared.

Effect of Changes in Body Mass Index on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

BACKGROUND: A higher body mass index (BMI) before kidney transplantation (KT) is associated with increased mortality and allograft loss in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). However, the effect of changes in BMI after KT on these outcomes remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of baseline BMI and changes in BMI on clinical outcomes in KTRs. METHODS: A total of 869 KTRs were enrolled from a multicenter observational cohort study from 2012 to 2015. Patients were divided into low and high BMI groups before KT based on a BMI cutoff point of 23 kg/m2. Differences in acute rejection and cardiovascular disease (CVD) between the 2 groups were analyzed. In addition, clinical outcomes across the 4 BMI groups divided by BMI change 1 year after KT were compared. Associations between BMI change and laboratory findings were also evaluated. RESULTS: Patients with a higher BMI before KT showed significantly increased CVD after KT (P = .027) compared with patients with a lower BMI. However, among the KTRs with a higher baseline BMI, only persistently higher BMI was associated with increased CVD during the follow-up period (P = .003). Patients with persistently higher BMI had significantly decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and increased hemoglobin, triglyceride, and hemoglobin A1c levels. Baseline BMI and post-transplantation change in BMI were not related to acute rejection in KTRs. CONCLUSIONS: BMI in the 1st year after KT as well as baseline BMI were associated with CVD in KTRs. More careful monitoring of obese KTRs who do not undergo a reduction in BMI after KT is required.

Health-Related Quality of Life of Kidney Transplantation Patients: Results from the KoreaN Cohort Study for Outcome in Patients With Kidney Transplantation (KNOW-KT) Study.

BACKGROUND: As patient and graft survival rates have been improving after kidney transplantation, health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) has become an important indicator of effective treatment. This study aimed to evaluate changes in HR-QOL after kidney transplantation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The KoreaN cohort study for Outcome in patients With Kidney Transplantation (KNOW-KT) is a multicenter, observational, 9-year, cohort study. The HR-QOL of patients in the KNOW-KT study was assessed before transplantation and 2 years after transplantation using the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form (KDQOL-SF) including chronic kidney disease targeted area and the Medical Outcome Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Multivariate linear regression was used to identify significant factors associated with follow-up QOL scores. RESULTS: A total of 175 patients from 8 centers were analyzed. All QOL scores including the total QOL score, chronic kidney disease targeted score, and SF-36 at the 2-year follow-up were significantly increased compared to baseline values. Both physical and mental scale scores were improved after transplantation. CONCLUSION: The QOL scores for both the mental and physical scales were improved at 2 years after kidney transplantation. High glomerular filtration rate at 2 years, high baseline QOL score, and low body mass index were associated with good follow-up QOL scores. Kidney transplantation for an Asian population with end-stage renal disease can result in better QOL as well as better patient and graft survival.

Can Kidney Transplantation Improve Arterial Stiffness in End-Stage Renal Patients?

BACKGROUND: Arterial stiffness is associated with cardiovascular disease in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and after kidney transplantation. We examined how kidney transplantation influences brachial-ankle pulse-wave velocity (baPWV) in ESRD patients. METHODS: The prospective observational study enrolled 67 patients who underwent successful kidney transplantation. Serial baPWV and biochemical parameters were measured before surgery and 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after transplantation. RESULTS: baPWV prior to kidney transplantation and 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after transplantation was 1533 ± 261 cm/s, 1417 ± 254 cm/s, 1414 ± 285 cm/s, and 1384 ± 233 cm/s, respectively. baPWV and biochemical parameters including alkaline phosphatase, intact parathyroid hormone, and 1,25 hydroxyvitamin D improved significantly at 6 months (P < .05), but there were no changes between 6 months and 2 years after transplantation. The majority of patients (73%) improved, whereas the remainder showed progression of baPWV after transplantation. Sixty-three percent of all kidney transplantation patients displayed higher baPWV than the healthy control subjects at 6 months after transplant. CONCLUSIONS: In the majority of patients, baPWV improved soon after kidney transplantation but overall remained higher than in the generally healthy population.

Sequential Changes of Vitamin D Level and Parathyroid Hormone After Kidney Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency is common in end stage renal disease patients. However, change of the vitamin D deficiency after kidney transplantation is not fully understood. METHODS: Twenty-five kidney transplant (KT) recipients with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25D) level, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D) level, parathyroid hormone (PTH) level before and 6, 12, and 24 months after transplantation were reviewed. RESULTS: Serum PTH level and 1,25D level showed significant changes at 6 months after transplantation, but did not show further change at 12 months. 25D level did not increase within 6 months after transplantation. However, 25D level showed gradual increase after 6 months. The proportion of recipients with 25D deficiency (<10 ng/mL) was 68%, 40%, and 28% before, 12 months after, and 24 months after transplantation, respectively. Patients with vitamin D deficiency at 24 month were younger at transplantation (37.7 ± 9.6 y vs 48.2 ± 8.0 y; P = .029) and had lower 25D level before transplantation (7.96 ± 1.74 ng/mL vs 10.59 ± 4.35 ng/mL; P = .041). CONCLUSIONS: 25D deficiency is persistent in almost kidney transplant recipients even 12 months after transplantation, although serum PTH levels decrease and serum 25D levels increase after transplantation.

Efficacy and safety of hepatitis A vaccination in kidney transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, symptomatic hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection has been reported with increasing frequency in Korea. Therefore, HAV vaccination should be considered in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). The study investigated the efficacy and safety of HAV vaccination in KTRs under modern triple immunosuppressive agents. METHODS: We evaluated the seroprevalence of anti-HAV immunoglobulin-G (IgG) in KTRs who had visited the Seoul National University Hospital from March 2011 to August 2012. Seronegative patients were immunized with 2 doses of HAV vaccine at a 6-month interval. Seroconversion of anti-HAV IgG was determined 1 month after the second vaccine dose, and adverse effects were monitored after each vaccination. RESULTS: Among a total 416 KTRs who were screened, 338 (81.2%) patients were seropositive for anti-HAV IgG. However, among patients who were under 40 years of age, only 31.8% were seropositive. Fifty-two seronegative recipients (mean age 34.1 years, 71.2% male) had received 2 doses of vaccine, and only 14 of these patients (26.9%) showed seroconversion. Vaccine responders had lower serum creatinine (1.19 ± 0.24 vs. 1.45 ± 0.49 mg/dL, P = 0.013), higher plasma hemoglobin levels (14.4 ± 1.9 vs. 12.8 ± 1.8 g/dL, P = 0.006), and had lower tacrolimus use than cyclosporine use (57.1% vs. 84.2%, P = 0.040) compared with non-responders. Responders had a tendency of taking lower dose of prednisolone (3.5 ± 1.6 vs. 4.3 ± 1.2 mg/day, P = 0.076), and having fewer infection events (14.3 vs. 40.5%, P = 0.076). Multivariate analysis indicated that higher hemoglobin levels and lower serum creatinine levels were significant prognostic factors for seroconversion. Overall, the vaccine was well tolerated in all patients. CONCLUSION: HAV IgG screening is necessary for KTRs, especially young recipients. HAV vaccination was safe in KTRs; however, poor response to HAV vaccination makes it important to identify seronegative patients as early as possible and vaccinate them before end-stage renal disease occurs.

Should we do cardiac stress tests in asymptomatic renal transplant candidates?

BACKGROUND: There is controversy regarding the best method and benefit of cardiac evaluation of asymptomatic renal transplant candidates. The positive predictive value of ischemia on a noninvasive stress test was ∼5%-10% in Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initative (KDOQI), American Society of Transplantation (AST), and Lisbon guidelines. We compared prediction of cardiac events with the use of simple transthoracic echocardiography versus a noninvasive stress test in asymptomatic candidates. METHODS: We selected asymptomatic patients with good functional capacity who would be recommended a cardiac stress test by both KDOQI and AST guidelines, we excluding those with a history of cardiovascular disease. Group A (n = 124) underwent only echocardiography, and group B (n = 41) underwent echocardiography and noninvasive stress test. We measured the incidences of cardiac events and cardiac death within 3 years after transplantation. RESULTS: The mean age of group A was 39 ± 7 and group B 40 ± 5 years. Diabetic patients among groups A and B were 8.8% (11/124) and 9.7% (4/41), respectively. The mean duration of dialysis was 2.9 ± 5 years. Only 4 group B patients showed a positive result on the noninvasive stress test, but they had no obstructive disease on coronary angiograms. The incidences of ischemic heart disease after transplantation of groups A and B were 4% (5/124) and 4.8% (2/41), respectively (P = .88). There was no death due to cardiac events in either group. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, simple echocardiography showed an ability similar to stress test to predict ischemic heart disease in asymptomatic renal transplant candidates with good functional capacity, relatively younger age, lower prevalence of diabetes, and shorter duration of dialysis.

Capillary wave dynamics of thin polymer films over submerged nanostructures.

The surface dynamics of thin molten polystyrene films supported by nanoscale periodic silicon line-space gratings were investigated with x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy. Surface dynamics over these nanostructures exhibit high directional anisotropy above certain length scales, as compared to surface dynamics over flat substrates. A cutoff length scale in the dynamics perpendicular to the grooves is observed. This marks a transition from standard over-damped capillary wave behavior to suppressed dynamics due to substrate interactions.

Curing viruses in Pleurotus ostreatus by growth on a limited nutrient medium containing cAMP and rifamycin.

Oyster mushroom spherical virus (OMSV) and oyster mushroom isometric virus (OMIV) are the causative agents of a fruiting body deformation disease in the edible mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus. The curing of these mycoviruses was facilitated by a serial transfer of infected mycelia onto a limited nutrient medium containing 1mM of cAMP and 75 µg/ml of rifamycin (cAMP-rifamycin plate). The mycelia were grown on cAMP-rifamycin plates for 5 successive passages. ELISA and RT-PCR showed that the amount of mycoviruses inside the mycelia decreased significantly with increasing numbers of passages. The mycelia became free of viruses after 5 successive passages. Cultivation of the virus-cured mycelia on a mushroom compost medium produced a normal harvest, whereas the spawn infected with viruses failed to produce any fruiting bodies.

Outcomes of management for potential deceased donors.

BACKGROUNDS: Potential deceased donor management optimization is important for organ recovery maximization. Before optimization, the current state of donor management and predictors for organ recovery require analysis. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed organ procurement activity and medical management for 2005 to 2010 potential brain death donors at Seoul National University Hospital. RESULTS: Of 316 contacts for potential brain-dead donors, 129 (39.7%) patients were transferred to the donor management team. Among the causes of transfer failure, issues related to proper donor management affected 33%. Expanded criteria donors were 17.9% of transferred donors. Organ recovery was successful in 111 (90.2%) donors. A total of 360 organs were recovered, corresponding to a mean of 2.92 ± 1.37 organs per donor. The absence of organ demand was an important cause of recovery failure among less transplanted organs. Brain death-related complications were identified as follows: acute kidney injury (AKI), defined by AKI network criteria, occurred in 19 (15.4%); cardiopulmonary resuscitation in 5 (3.1%); bacteremia in 12 (9.7%); thrombocytopenia in 24 (19.5%); and diabetes insipidus in 42 (34.1%). AKI was a significant independent risk factor for organ recovery failure in both the liver and kidney (odds ratio [OR] 0.147, 95% confidence interval [0.045, 0.473], P = .001; OR 0.096, 95% confidence interval [0.023, 0.392], P = .001, for kidney and liver, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Both the transfer success rate and rate of organs transplanted per donor of potential deceased donors remained low in Korea. AKI during potential donor management was a risk factor for kidney and liver recovery failure.

Clinical manifestations of hypercalcemia and hypophosphatemia after kidney transplantation.

INTRODUCTION: Abnormalities of calcium and phosphorus metabolism in end-stage renal disease patients can persist after transplantation. We investigated their natural courses after transplantation, their risk factors for posttransplantation hypercalcemia and hypophosphatemia, and their impacts on allograft outcomes. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed a total of 490 adult patients who underwent kidney transplantations between 2000 and 2009. RESULTS: The serum calcium continued to increase, and reaching a plateau at around 3 months after transplantation. Thereafter it decreased, reaching a stable level by 2 years. Forty-four patients (9.0%) displayed hypercalcemia within 1 year; it persisted longer than that in 23 subjects (4.7%). Both longer dialysis duration (odds ratio [OR] 1.423; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.192-1.699) and high intact serum parathyroid hormone (iPTH) level before transplantation (OR 1.002; 95% CI, 1.000-1.003) increased the risk for posttransplantation hypercalcemia. After a significant decrease during the first week, the serum phosphorus level increased, becoming stable between 1 and 6 months after transplantation. Hypophsphatemia occurred in 379 patients (77.3%) with 336 patients displaying hypophosphatemia without hypercalcemia. However, neither hypercalcemia nor hypophosphatemia influenced graft outcomes. Eight patients underwent pretransplantation parathyroidectomy, whereas 4 patients underwent posttransplantation parathyroidectomy. Neither group of patients experienced posttransplantation hypercalcemia. CONCLUSIONS: Both hypercalcemia and hypophosphatemia are common after renal transplantation, especially among patients with a long history of dialysis before transplantation. Strict control of hyperparathyroidism including parathyroidectomy before transplantation may be the appropriate approach to these abnormalities.

Kidney transplantation using expanded criteria donors in Korea.

BACKGROUND: Use of expanded criteria donor (ECD) grafts seeks to solve the organ shortage. We investigated the current status of donor selection and transplantation outcomes. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 791 kidney transplantations performed between 1997 and 2009. An expanded criteria deceased donor (ECDD) was defined as an individual who fulfilled the United Network for Organ Sharing criteria or, the Nyberg criteria. An expanded criteria living donor (ECLD) was determined by fulfillment of 1 or more of 5 criteria. RESULTS: Deceased and living donor kidney transplantations were performed in 228 (28.8%) and 563 (71.2%) cases, respectively. Forty-three cases (18.9%) belonged to the ECDDs. The ECDD group showed a lower posttransplantation 1-year estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) than that of the standard criteria deceased donor (SCDD) group (70.7 ± 19.2 vs 48.6 ± 11.5; P < .001). The ECDDs were allocated to older recipients or recipients with more HLA mismatches than SCDDs. The number of ECLD cases was 173 (30.7%). The proportions of each medical abnormality of living donors were as follows: age older than 60 years (0.5%), hypertension (2.5%), obesity (2.1%), low eGFR (25.9%), proteinuria (0%), and microscopic hematuria (1.4%). The ECLD group showed a lower posttransplantation 1-year eGFR than that of the standard criteria living donor (SCLD) group (66.9 ± 16.0 vs 58.3 ± 11.2; P < .001). Graft survival was not different among the donor types (P = .518). CONCLUSIONS: eCDs were 27.3% of the total kidney donors. Posttransplantation 1-year eGFR was lower in the ECD group. However, there was no difference in the graft survival among the different donor types.

Management of patients on the waiting list for deceased donor kidney transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Although the number of wait-listed patients for deceased donor kidney transplantation has been continuously increasing in Korea, no standard guidelines exist for their management. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of our 1,231 wait-listed patients between 2000 and 2010. RESULTS: The time to transplantation of the 201 recipients was 51.9 ± 31.2 months. Ninety-seven patients died while waiting. Diabetic or older patients have increased among new registrants; however, <50% of them have undergone regular screening for malignancy or cardiovascular diseases. Patients with regular screening were more likely to get a chance to receive a transplant (P = .016). Malignancy was newly diagnosed in 26 patients (2.1%) and reversible cardiac ischemia was detected in 9.7%. The presence of anti-HLA antibodies was strongly associated with a lower transplantation rate, whereas blood type O was not. Although use of expanded criteria donor (ECD) kidneys increased, many patients avoided them. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to improve management programs for wait-listed patients by establishing comorbidity screening and ECD education.

Sequential occurrence of life-threatening hypokalemia and rebound hyperkalemia associated with barbiturate coma therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To report a sequential occurrence of life-threatening hypokalemia and rebound hyperkalemia following barbiturate coma therapy. CASE HISTORY: A 53-year-old man was admitted to the division of nephrology due to sudden development of severe hypokalemia. The patient had been treated following a clinical diagnosis of traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage and subdural hematoma. Barbiturate coma therapy had been performed on this patient. He developed fatal hypokalemia 10 hours after the start of thiopental administration which did not respond to potassium supplementation. The lowest potassium level following barbiturate coma therapy was 1.0 mmol/l. Severe bradycardia and cardiac arrest developed, which necessitated cardiac massage and treatment with epinephrine and atropine. He recovered from cardiac arrest. When thiopental infusion was suddenly stopped, the potassium level increased to 8.9 mmol/l, which required quick administration of calcium gluconate and infusion of glucose solution mixed with regular insulin. Despite such management, he developed asystole. After direct current cardioversion and emergency hemodialysis, he recovered from cardiac arrest and his serum potassium level was stabilized. CONCLUSION: We recommend that clinicians must be aware of the potential occurrence of severe hypokalemia, which is rare but fatal, following barbiturate coma therapy. Rebound hyperkalemia, which is fatal, may also occur following cessation of thiopental infusion. Clinicians should also be aware of this potential complication. Further studies are needed to elucidate the precise mechanism of this clinical event.

Effects of triethyl phosphate and nitrate on electrokinetically enhanced biodegradation of diesel in low permeability soils.

Bench-scale experiments for electrokinetically enhanced bioremediation of diesel in low permeability soils were conducted. An electrokinetic reactor (ER) was filled with kaolin that was artificially contaminated with diesel at a level of 2500 mg kg(-1). A constant voltage gradient of 1.0 V cm(-1) was applied. In phosphorus transport experiments, KH2PO4 was not distributed homogeneously along the ER, and most of the transported phosphorus was converted to water-insoluble aluminum phosphate after 12 days of electrokinetic (EK) operation. However, the advancing P front of triethyl phosphate (TEP) progressed with time and resulted in uniform P distribution. The treatments employed in the electrokinetically enhanced bioremediation of diesel were control (no addition of nitrogen and phosphorus), NP (KNO3+ KH2PO4), NT (KNO3+ TEP), UP (urea+ KH2PO4), and UT (urea+TEP). Analysis of effluent collected during the first 12 days of EK operation showed that diesel was not removed from the kaolin. After nutrient delivery, using the EK operation, the ER was transferred into an incubator for the biodegradation process. After 60 days of biodegradation, the concentrations of diesel in the kaolin for the NP, NT, UP, UT, and control treatments were 1356, 1002, 1658, 1612, and 2003 mg kg(-1), respectively. The ratio of biodegraded diesel concentration to initial concentration (2465 mg kg(-1)) in NP, NT, UP, UT, and control were 45.0%, 59.4%, 32.7%, 34.6%, and 18.7%, respectively. This result showed that TEP, treated along with NO3-, was most effective for the biodegradation of diesel. TEP was delivered more efficiently to the target zones and with less phosphorus loss than KH2PO4. However, this facilitated phosphorus delivery was effective in biodegrading diesel under anaerobic conditions only when electron acceptors, such as NO3-, were present.

PKD2 gene mutation analysis in Korean autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease patients using two-dimensional gene scanning.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is genetically heterogeneous and is caused by mutations in the PKD1 or PKD2 genes. ADPKD caused by PKD2 mutations is characterized by a longer survival and a later onset of end-stage renal disease than ADPKD caused by PKD1 mutations. PKD2 encodes a 2.9-kb messenger RNA and is derived from 15 exons. Two-dimensional gene scanning (TDGS) is more efficient in detecting mutations in genes such as PKD2 because it can scan the whole coding regions simultaneously. In order to determine the prevalence of Korean PKD2 patients, all the coding sequences of PKD2 were screened using TDGS and direct sequencing in 46 randomly selected ADPKD patients (group 1). Another 45 ADPKD patients (group 2), who were presumed to be PKD2 patients, were screened in order to identify the type of mutation in the Korean PKD2 patients. Eight novel different mutations and three known mutations in the PKD2 gene were detected in 17 patients: 6 patients (13.0%) in group 1 and 11 patients (24.4%) in group 2. Considering the sensitivity of TDGS, the prevalence of PKD2 in Korean population might be greater than 18.6%. Both known and novel mutations were identified by TDGS in Korean PKD2 patients. Overall, these results showed that TDGS might be useful for diagnosing PKD2.

The clinical significances of simple renal cyst: Is it related to hypertension or renal dysfunction?

Simple renal cyst has controversy related to hypertension and renal dysfunction. We analyzed the impacts of cyst on hypertension and renal dysfunction, focusing on elimination of the confounding factors. We grouped 436 patients and 436 controls by characteristics of cyst and stratified with clinical parameters among 6603 patients who had routine health check-up in Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea. The presence of cyst was related to hypertension but not to renal dysfunction. The number and the size of cyst were independent risk factors to the prevalence of hypertension. The presence of multiple renal cysts was related to hypertension in males, in persons over the age of 60 years, in persons with glomerular filtration rate (GFR) more than 60 ml/min/1.73 m2, or in persons without proteinuria. The effect of the large cyst and the peripheral cyst on the prevalence of hypertension was similar to that of the multiple cyst. The blood pressure of the multiple-cyst group, the large-cyst group, or the peripheral-cyst group was higher than that of the single-cyst group, the small-cyst group, or the perihilar-cyst group, respectively, regardless of antihypertensive medications. In conclusion, the presence of cysts or characteristics of cyst were not related to the decreased GFR. In conclusion, the presence of simple renal cyst was related to hypertension but not to renal dysfunction. The effect of simple cyst on hypertension was evident in males, aged persons, and persons without the evidence of renal disease. The number, size, and location were important characteristics of cyst related to hypertension.