<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><bold>Introduction.</bold> Podocyte injury has been reported as an early feature of DN therefore, the assessment of podocyte injury can be accomplished by estimation of podocalyxin in urine. This study aimed to estimate the urinary podocalyxin levels and to determine the sensitivity and specificity of this biomarker for early detection of DN.<bold>Materials and methods.</bold> A total of 90 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were included in this cross-sectional study. Sixty of them were without diagnosed DN, and 30 with diagnosed DN. A control group consisted of 30 healthy subjects. All patients with T2DM were divided into three subgroups according to urinary microalbumin/creatinine ratio (UM/CR): normoalbuminuric, microalbuminuric and macroalbuminuric patients. Urine samples, were used for measurement of podocalyxin by ELISA, creatinine and microalbumin. Fasting venous blood samples was collected for biochemical analyses.<bold>Results.</bold> The levels of urinary podocalyxin (u-PDX) were higher in patients with T2DM compared to control subjects and a statistically significant difference among studied subgroups regarding u-PDX was found (p &lt; 0.05). Levels of u-PDX are increasing gradually with the degree of DN (p &lt; 0.029). u-PDX levels were positively correlated with UM/CR (r = 0.227, p = 0.002). A cut-off level of 43.8 ng/ml u-PDX showed 73.3% sensitivity and 93.3% specificity to detect DN in early stage. A cut-off level of 30 mg/g UM/CR showed 41.5% sensitivity and 90% specificity in predicting DN. u-PDX was elevated in 48,2% of normoalbuminuric patients.<bold>Conclusion.</bold> Urinary podocalyxin be useful and more sensitive and specific marker in early detection of DN than microalbuminuria.</abstract>

Introduction. Podocyte injury has been reported as an early feature of DN therefore, the assessment of podocyte injury can be accomplished by estimation of podocalyxin in urine. This study aimed to estimate the urinary podocalyxin levels and to determine the sensitivity and specificity of this biomarker for early detection of DN.Materials and methods. A total of 90 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were included in this cross-sectional study. Sixty of them were without diagnosed DN, and 30 with diagnosed DN. A control group consisted of 30 healthy subjects. All patients with T2DM were divided into three subgroups according to urinary microalbumin/creatinine ratio (UM/CR): normoalbuminuric, microalbuminuric and macroalbuminuric patients. Urine samples, were used for measurement of podocalyxin by ELISA, creatinine and microalbumin. Fasting venous blood samples was collected for biochemical analyses.Results. The levels of urinary podocalyxin (u-PDX) were higher in patients with T2DM compared to control subjects and a statistically significant difference among studied subgroups regarding u-PDX was found (p < 0.05). Levels of u-PDX are increasing gradually with the degree of DN (p < 0.029). u-PDX levels were positively correlated with UM/CR (r = 0.227, p = 0.002). A cut-off level of 43.8 ng/ml u-PDX showed 73.3% sensitivity and 93.3% specificity to detect DN in early stage. A cut-off level of 30 mg/g UM/CR showed 41.5% sensitivity and 90% specificity in predicting DN. u-PDX was elevated in 48,2% of normoalbuminuric patients.Conclusion. Urinary podocalyxin be useful and more sensitive and specific marker in early detection of DN than microalbuminuria.

Role of urinary podocalyxin in early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy

Romanian Journal of Internal Medicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Role of urinary podocalyxin in early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy"}

Introduction. Podocyte injury has been reported as an early feature of DN therefore, the assessment of podocyte injury can be accomplished by estimation of...

Role of urinary podocalyxin in early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy

Published Online: Dec 17, 2020

Page range: 233 - 241

Received: May 25, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rjim-2020-0023

Keywords
diabetic nephropathy, microalbumin, podocalyxin, ROC analysis, podocytes

© 2020 Irena Kostovska et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Role of urinary podocalyxin in early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy

Published Online: Dec 17, 2020

Page range: 233 - 241

Received: May 25, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rjim-2020-0023

Keywordsdiabetic nephropathy, microalbumin, podocalyxin, ROC analysis, podocytes

© 2020 Irena Kostovska et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
diabetic nephropathy, microalbumin, podocalyxin, ROC analysis, podocytes