association between the three polymorphisms of the glucocorticoid receptor gene and the early clinical outcome in kidney transplantation patients

background: glucocorticoids are pivotal components of immunosuppressive regimens in solid organ transplantations. this study aimed to assess the possible association between the er22/23ek, n363s, and bcl1 polymorphisms, and short-term clinical outcomes, including acute rejection and delayed graft function (dgf), in kidney transplantation recipients. methods: a case-control study was conducted in a twoyear period on adults with transplanted kidneys, comprised of subjects without rejection (n=50, control) and those with documented rejection within one year after transplantation (n=50, case), between april 2017 and september 2018, in shiraz, iran. demographic characteristics and clinical and paraclinical findings were gathered. the genotyping of the er22/23ek, n363s, and bcl1 polymorphisms was carried out via polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (pcrrflp). the association between the genotypes and dgf as well as rejection types was evaluated using either the chi square test or fisher exact test. a stepwise logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the independent factors of acute rejection within the first year after transplantation. results: the study population consisted of 64 men and 36 women. the frequency of mutated alleles was 0.32 for g (bcl1), 0.02 for s (n363s), and 0.065 for a (er22/23ek). there was no significant association either between the studied polymorphisms and acute rejection or between the bcl1 (p=0.17), n363s (p=0.99), and er22/23ek (p=0.99) genotypes and dgf. the length of hospital stay after kidney transplantation was slightly more in n363n and er22/23ek wild allele carriers. however, this difference was not statistically significant. conclusion: our data suggested no statistically significant association between the genotypes of the studied polymorphisms and early clinical outcomes after kidney transplantation.