Posttransplant recurrence of atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome

Abstract

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a rare disease characterized by microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia and acute renal failure. It is usually secondary to infections by strains of Escherichia coli (STEC) that produce Shiga-like toxin. In about 10% of patients, no STEC infections are reported. In these cases of atypical HUS (aHUS), mutations in genes encoding proteins of the complement system have been described. Atypical HUS is characterized by poor prognosis and by high risk of posttransplant recurrence which greatly depends on the specific gene mutation involved in the disease. Plasma therapy, eculizumab treatment and, in some cases, combined liver-kidney transplant have been used to prevent and/or treat posttransplant aHUS recurrences.