Inflammation, Proteolysis and IL-1 Beta Receptor Inhibition in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients

Chronic hemodialysis (CHD) patients display multiple metabolic abnormalities related to advanced uremia. Despite vigorous attempts to prevent these abnormalities and their consequences, most CHD patients suffer from a unique form of nutritional derangement, which can be termed as "uremic wasting". Several studies have demonstrated that the presence of uremic wasting, especially the degree of loss of muscle mass, sharply increases mortality and hospitalization rate in CHD patients.

Several factors have been thought to be associated with uremic wasting, including hormonal derangement, anorexia, physical inactivity, and concurrent illnesses. Chronic inflammation, also highly prevalent in these patients, causes muscle catabolism in animal models and certain clinical conditions. Epidemiological studies show an association between chronic inflammation and uremic wasting in hemodialysis patients indicating a possible causal relationship.

The cause for the activated inflammatory state in CHD patients is believed to be multi-factorial. Nevertheless, it is certainly important for the host to limit its biological activity by eliciting a stronger anti-inflammatory response, for example through the production of naturally occurring receptor antagonist. Interleukin 1 beta, one of the major pro-inflammatory cytokines has been shown to be associated with protein catabolism in several chronic disease states, including advanced uremia. A balance between interleukin 1 beta (agonist) and its naturally occurring receptor antagonist IL-1ra may play a pivotal role in controlling the inflammatory response and its consequences in this population.

The overall goal of this particular grant application is to examine the short-term effects of the administration of the recombinant form of IL-1ra on 1) chronic inflammatory state and 2) protein homeostasis in chronically inflamed CHD patients.

We have updated our protocol to perform an interim analysis. The interim analysis will be performed after half of the planned study sample has been enrolled (14 subjects; 7 in each arm). The interim analysis has been approved by the Data Safety Monitoring Board.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: End Stage Renal Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: kineret; Drug: placebo

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 31
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Tennessee
    • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232
      • Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Patients on CHD for more than 3 months;
2. Ability to read and sign the consent form;
3. Have acceptable dialysis adequacy (Kt/V > 1.2);
4. Use biocompatible hemodialysis membrane;
5. Have a patent, well functioning, arteriovenous dialysis access;
6. Signs of chronic inflammation (the average of three consecutive CRP measurements ≥ 5 mg/L).

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients with residual renal function > 5 ml/min or urine output > 100 ml/day;
2. Pregnancy;
3. Intolerance to the study medication or contraindication to the study medication: Hypersensitivity to E. coli-derived proteins, anakinra, or any component of the formulation; patients with active infections (including chronic or local infection);
4. Severe, unstable, active, or chronic inflammatory disease (active infection, active connective tissue disorder, active cancer or cancer history in the prior 5 years, HIV, liver disease including positive test or history of Hepatitis B or C);
5. Hospitalization within 1 month prior to the study;
6. Malfunctioning arterial-venous vascular access [recirculation and/or blood flow < 500 ml/min for an arterial-venous graft (AVG) or < 400 ml/min for an arterial-venous fistula (AVF)];
7. Patients receiving steroids and/or other immunosuppressive agents;
8. Life-expectancy less than 6 months;
9. Age greater than 75 or less than 18 years old;
10. Hypersensitivity to organic nitrates, isosorbide, or nitroglycerin.
11. Presence of active infections or a history of pulmonary TB infection with or without documented adequate therapy. Subjects with current active TB, or recent close exposure to an individual with active TB, are excluded from the study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Placebo	Drug: placebo; 100 mg administered subcutaneously every other day (3 days a week during hemodialysis) for 4 weeks
Active Comparator: Kineret; Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist	Drug: kineret; 100 mg administered subcutaneously every other day (3 days a week during hemodialysis) for 4 weeks; Other Names: Anakinra

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
High Sensitivity C-reactive Protein (hsCRP)	hsCRP is a sensitive laboratory assay for serum levels of C-reactive protein, which is a biomarker of inflammation.	month 1

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Interleukin-6 (IL-6)	IL-6 is a sensitive laboratory assay for serum levels of interlukin-6, which is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that is used to evaluate the inflammatory response.	month 1
Serum Prealbumin	Prealbumin is a sensitive laboratory assay for serum levels of prealbumin, which is a biomarker of nutrition.	month 1
Serum Albumin	Albumin is a sensitive laboratory assay for serum levels of albumin, which is a biomarker of nutrition.	month 1
Lean Body Mass (LBM)	LBM is a measurement of body composition in terms of lean body mass as determined using Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) performed 1 to 2 hours after dialysis.	month 1

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Vanderbilt University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Adriana Hung, MD, Vanderbilt University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Hung AM, Ellis CD, Shintani A, Booker C, Ikizler TA. IL-1beta receptor antagonist reduces inflammation in hemodialysis patients. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2011 Mar;22(3):437-42. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2010070760. Epub 2011 Feb 10.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2008
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2010
• Study Completion (Actual): May 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 10, 2007
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 10, 2007
• First Posted (Estimate): January 11, 2007

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): November 17, 2011
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 10, 2011
• Last Verified: October 1, 2011

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: inflammation; end stage renal disease
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Urologic Diseases; Renal Insufficiency; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic; Kidney Diseases; Inflammation; Kidney Failure, Chronic; Antirheumatic Agents; Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein
• Other Study ID Numbers: 060661