MicroRNAs in peritoneal dialysis effluent are promising biomarkers for peritoneal fibrosis in peritoneal dialysis patients

Peritoneal fibrosis is a common complication of long-term peritoneal dialysis, and contributes to encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis and eventually peritoneal ultrafiltration failure, which restricts the wide application of peritoneal dialysis. Therefore, the prevention and treatment of peritoneal fibrosis is important to maintain peritoneal membrane integrity and prolong peritoneal dialysis treatment. Unfortunately, neither specific biomarkers nor effective therapies are available for peritoneal fibrosis in the clinic up to now. Emerging evidence suggests that extracellular microRNAs in body fluids are promising biomarkers for the diagnosis of diseases. microRNAs were reported to be involved in multiple fibrotic diseases and the serum levels of specific microRNAs were correlated with the degree of fibrosis. Moreover, extracellular microRNAs were found in peritoneal fluids and ascites. Based on these findings, here we present our hypothesis that extracellular microRNAs associated with peritoneal epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and fibrosis could potentially be detected in peritoneal dialysis effluent, and serve as novel biomarkers for early assessment and diagnosis of peritoneal fibrosis. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.