Measurement of urine prostaglandin E2 as a predictor of acute renal transplant rejection: preliminary findings.

A radioimmunoassay for prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in urine was developed and validated. It was used to provide serial measurements in eight renal transplant patients. Urine PGE2 concentration was increased between 1 and 7 days before any changes in the conventional biochemical indicators of acute rejection, serum creatinine and creatinine clearance. The increases in PGE2 concentration varied from 3 to 50 times that of the previous day. These results suggest that measurement of urinary PGE2 may be useful as an early indicator of acute renal transplant rejection.