Objective  To investigate the influence of gender on the blood concentration of mycophenolic acid (MPA) in the recipients after renal transplantation.

  Methods  A total of 115 recipients receiving living donor renal transplantation were recruited and divided into the S1 (61 male cases) and S2 groups (54 female cases).After the operation, triple immunosuppressive regimen of tacrolimus (2 mg for each time, twice daily) + mycophenolate mofetil (MMF, 0.75 g for each time, twice daily) + prednisone was administered for at least one week.The trough blood concentration of MPA was statistically compared between two groups at 1-, 2-, 3-week, 1-, 2- and 3-month after drug administration, and the incidence of adverse reactions were analyzed between two groups.

  Results  At 1-, 2-, 3-week, 1-, 2- and 3-month after drug administration, the trough blood concentration of MPA in the S1 group was significantly lower than that in the S2 group (all P < 0.05).At different time points after drug administration, the ratio of the mean trough blood concentration of MPA between the S1 and S2 groups was relatively stable and fluctuated between 0.71 and 0.84.The percentage of recipients with trough blood concentration of MPA < 1.0 μg/mL in the S1 group was high, especially at 1 week (44%) or 2 week (20%) after drug administration.In the S2 group, the proportion of recipients with trough blood concentration of MPA > 3.5 μg/mL was high with the fluctuations ranging from 30% to 78%.In the S1 group, 4 cases suffered from acute rejection, in whom 3 patients had graft failure due to acute rejection.In the S2 group, 7 patients presented with gastrointestinal disorder and 3 had pulmonary infection.

  Conclusions  Gender exerts certain influence on the trough blood concentration of MPA in the recipients after renal transplantation.The trough blood concentration of MPA in the female recipients is significantly higher than that in the male recipients.