Urinary excretion of angiogenesis regulatory factors and renal injury markers in chronic glomerulonephritis: Significance in the assessment of progression

Abstract

Aim. To study the urinary excretion of the molecular factors regulating angiogenesis, such as vascular endothelial growth factor type A (VEGF-A), thrombospondin 1 (THBS1), and angiopoietin 2 (ANGPT2), versus that of the urinary markers of renal injury and fibrogenesis, such as neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), type IV collagen (COL4), and known clinical risk factors for accelerated disease progression to estimate the prognostic value of urinary excretion in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN). Subjects and methods. Eighty-two patients (45% men, 55% women; mean age, 36.5 years) with a clinical diagnosis of CGN were examined. 31.7% of the examinees presented with nephrotic syndrome; 31.7% had a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of less than 60 ml/min/1.73 m2. Morning urine samples were analyzed by Elisa to determine the urinary excretion of biomarkers (VEGF-A, THBS1, ANGPT2, NGAL, and COL4). The results were adjusted to urinary creatinine concentrations. Results. The urinary excretion of the angiogenesis regulators VEGF-A, THBS1, and ANGPT2 correlated between them, with that of the renal injury markers NGAL and COL4, with the level of proteinuria. That was found to be unassociated with blood pressure and GFR. In the presence and absence of nephrotic syndrome, high (>75th percentile) urinary excretion rates were 46.2 and 14.8% for VEGF-A (р

Keywords

• chronic kidney disease
• chronic glomerulonephritis
• vascular endothelial growth factor
• thrombospondin
• angiopoietin
• neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin
• collagen
• proteinuria
• nephrotic syndrome
• tubulointerstitial fibrosis