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BackgroundRat renal transplantation is an essential experimental model for studies of transplantation immunobiology. Harvesting both kidneys from one donor rat for transplantation is widely used to reduce the number of experimental animals. Using the conventional method, both kidneys of the donor rat are harvested simultaneously, which leads to the prolonged warm ischemic times during transplantation of the second donor kidney. Prolonged warm ischemia time is the main risk factor for delayed graft function.MethodsTwo different approaches are compared. Method 1, conventional method: both kidneys of the donor rat are harvested simultaneously and then transplanted into two recipients. During transplantation, the first and second donor kidneys were regarded as Group 1 and 2, respectively. Method 2, step-by-step method: after left nephrectomy, the donor rat survives, and we perform left renal transplantation (Group 3). Then, the right kidney of the surviving donor rat is incised and transplanted into the left side of the second recipient (Group 4).ResultsThe success rates were 86.7, 93.3, 93.3 and 86.7% in groups 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The warm ischemia times increased significantly in group 2 compared with the other 3 groups (p < 0.05) but differed non-significantly between groups 3 and 4 (p > 0.05). Serum creatinine levels, blood urea nitrogen and 24-h urine protein level obviously increased after kidney transplantation in group 2 compared with other groups (p < 0.05).ConclusionsWe developed an optimized method for reducing warm ischemia time, thereby minimizing delayed graft function.

Background Researchers have proved that simple renal cysts (SRCs) might be correlated with renal dysfunction, but it is still controversial. Thus, we conducted clinical research study with large sample size and long-term follow-up to clarify the relationship between SRCs and renal dysfunction. Methods A total of 571 SRCs patients in outpatients of nephrology department were included, we investigated the clinical characteristics of growth SRCs compared with non-growth SRCs, evaluated the incidence of renal dysfunction in SRCs and explored the risk factors of renal dysfunction in growth SRCs. Results The mean baseline age was 51.31 ± 14.37 years in the whole cohort, ranging from 19 to 79 years, and 57.6% of them were male. The median follow-up duration was 3 years, ranging from 1 to 10 years. In addition, the final maximum diameter increased 1 mm (2.74%) per year. Patients in growth SRCs group tented to have higher percentage of hypertension, hematuria, large cyst and multiple cysts compared with non-growth SRCs group. The prevalence of renal dysfunction was 15.6% after the follow-up, and the prevalence of renal dysfunction was about 10 times higher in growth SRCs group than non-growth SRCs group (23.3% vs. 2.4%). Renal dysfunction was significantly associated with age, female, total cholesterol, diastolic blood pressure, final maximum diameter and yearly change in maximum diameter in growth SRCs. Conclusions SRCs were closely related to the decline of renal function, we recommend close follow-up for growth SRCs.