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Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor Julie Lovegrove, University of Reading, UK
- Second opponent: Professor Hans-Peter Marti, Haukeland University Hospital,
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Professor Stine Marie Ulven, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Researcher Hilde Loge Nilsen, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Professor My Hanna Sofia Svensson, Aalborg University
Summary
Aging is a driver of chronic kidney disease, and cellular senescence is a major player in the aging process and age-related diseases. Senescent cells have lost their physiological properties, and they secrete proinflammatory proteins. In kidney transplantation, the level of senescence markers in kidney grafts is a strong predictor for long-term function.
Marine omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties which could counter the development of cellular senescence and its deleterious effects. The aim of this thesis was to explore new tools and biomarkers which may aid designing and promote future studies on the effects of marine omega-3 fatty acids on cellular senescence in renal transplantation.
The studies in this thesis are based on blood and urine samples, and data from the ORENTRA trial. It was a randomized, double‐blind, controlled trial where kidney transplant recipients either received 2.6 g of marine omega-3 fatty acid supplementation or a placebo daily for 44 weeks 8 weeks after kidney transplantation.
A food frequency questionnaire specifically developed for the ORENTRA trial showed an acceptable correlation with the reference biomarker plasma phospholipid marine omega-3 fatty acid level.
In an exploratory study regarding the effect of marine omega-3 fatty acids on cellular senescence, we found that marine omega-3 fatty acid supplementation was associated with mitigating effects on the senescence-associated secretory phenotype components granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, interleukin-1α, macrophage inflammatory protein 1α, matrix metallopeptidase-1 and -13 in plasma.
Serum uromodulin and urinary epidermal growth factor were associated with the severity of kidney graft fibrosis with comparable strength. Both biomarkers have similar performance as measured glomerular filtration rate in reflecting tubular health. These biomarkers may complement estimated glomerular filtration rate in clinical studies where kidney function is an outcome measure.
Additional information
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