Research questions and objectives: Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is a prevalent postoperative complication associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare expenditures. Moreover, AKI serves as a significant risk factor for the development of postoperative Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Current clinical diagnosis of AKI and CKD primarily relies on serum creatinine levels and creatinine clearance rate according to KDIGO consensus criteria. However, the diagnosis based on creatinine levels is inherently delayed, and the effective preventive strategies remain unavailable. The primary etiologies of postoperative AKI and CKD include preoperative renal disease, perioperative hypoperfusion, renal ischemia-reperfusion injury, and the administration of nephrotoxic agents, yet the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are not fully elucidated. Notably, patients undergoing similar surgical procedures do not uniformly develop AKI, and among those who do, recovery trajectories vary substantially. Currently, there are few reports on the genetic susceptibility to postoperative AKI or CKD. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the genetic susceptibility and potential diagnostic biomarkers for postoperative AKI and CKD through bioinformatics-based differential analysis, integrating genomic and transcriptomic data.
Scientific rationale for the research:Emerging evidence suggests that genetic and molecular factors play a critical role in the development of postoperative AKI and CKD. For example, certain genetic polymorphisms have been associated with the susceptibility and severity of AKI, such as those related to cytokine genes, renal protective genes, and renal tubular epithelial cell injury-related genes. However, research on genetic susceptibility and molecular biomarkers specific to postoperative AKI and CKD is still in its early stages, and most studies have not addressed a broad range of patient populations.
