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Establishment of reference values for novel urinary biomarkers for renal damage in the healthy population: are age and gender an issue?

  • Valérie Pennemans EMAIL logo , Jean-Michel Rigo , Christel Faes , Carmen Reynders , Joris Penders and Quirine Swennen
Published/Copyright: May 7, 2013
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Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
From the journal Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine Volume 51 Issue 9

Abstract

Background: Recently, a lot of research has focused on the discovery of novel renal biomarkers. Among others, the urinary kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) have been proven to be promising biomarkers in a wide variety of renal pathologies. However, little is known about the normal concentrations in urine of healthy subjects. Therefore, the goal of our study is to establish reference values for urinary KIM-1, NGAL, N-acetyl-β-D-glucosamidase (NAG), and cystatin C in a healthy population, taking into account possible effects of age and gender.

Methods: We collected urine samples from 338 healthy, nonsmoking subjects between 0 and 95 years old. Subjects with elevated α1-microglobulin values were excluded. Next to the urinary concentrations of KIM-1, NGAL, NAG, and cystatin C, we measured urinary creatinine and specific gravity to correct for urinary dilution. The possible effect of age and gender on the four urinary biomarkers was investigated, and the reference values were established.

Results: For the absolute urinary concentrations of the biomarkers, age had a significant effect on all the biomarkers, except for cystatin C, whereas gender significantly affected all four of them, except for NAG. The normalization of biomarkers for creatinine and specific gravity had an effect on the correlation between the biomarkers on one hand and age and gender on the other.

Conclusions: In conclusion, age and gender had different effects on KIM-1, NGAL, NAG, and cystatin C. Based on this knowledge, age- and gender-specific reference values for KIM-1, NGAL, NAG, and cystatin C were established.

Keywords: age; cystatin C; kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1); N-acetyl-β-D-glucosamidase (NAG); neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL); reference values; urine
Corresponding author: Valérie Pennemans, Biomedical Research Institute, Agoralaan, Gebouw C, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium, Phone: +32 11 26 92 63, Fax: +32 11 26 92 99

Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ conflict of interest disclosure: The authors stated that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this article.

Research funding: None declared.

Employment or leadership: None declared.

Honorarium: None declared.

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Received: 2013-2-28
Accepted: 2013-4-1
Published Online: 2013-05-07
Published in Print: 2013-09-01

©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/cclm-2013-0157
Keywords for this article
age; cystatin C; kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1); N-acetyl-β-D-glucosamidase (NAG); neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL); reference values; urine

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Masthead
  2. Masthead
  3. Editorials
  4. What is a biomarker? It’s time for a renewed definition
  5. Biomarker research and leading causes of death worldwide: a rather feeble relationship
  6. Thiosulfate in urine: new hope or new failure of a biomarker for prostate cancer?
  7. Review
  8. Acute coronary syndrome – the present and future role of biomarkers1)
  9. Mini Review
  10. Advance in molecular diagnostic tools for hepatitis B virus detection
  11. Opinion Paper
  12. Standardization and analytical goals for glycated hemoglobin measurement
  13. Guidelines and Recommendations
  14. Proposal for the use in emergency departments of cardiac troponins measured with the latest generation methods in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome without persistent ST-segment elevation
  15. General Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
  16. Current status of verification practices in clinical biochemistry in Spain
  17. Two site evaluation of the performance of a new generation point-of-care glucose meter for use in a neonatal intensive care unit
  18. Trp64Arg (rs4994) polymorphism of β3-adrenergic receptor gene is associated with hyperuricemia in a Chinese male population
  19. Quantification of vancomycin in human serum by LC-MS/MS
  20. Automated indirect immunofluorescence antinuclear antibody analysis is a standardized alternative for visual microscope interpretation
  21. Autocorrelation and cross-correlation between hCGβ and PAPP-A in repeated sampling during first trimester of pregnancy
  22. Platelet oxidative stress and systemic inflammation in chronic spontaneous urticaria
  23. Reference Values
  24. Establishment of reference values for novel urinary biomarkers for renal damage in the healthy population: are age and gender an issue?
  25. Risks of mortality associated with common laboratory tests: a novel, simple and meaningful way to set decision limits from data available in the Electronic Medical Record
  26. Cancer Diagnostics
  27. Cancer antigen 125, human epididymis 4, kallikrein 6, osteopontin and soluble mesothelin-related peptide immunocomplexed with immunoglobulin M in epithelial ovarian cancer diagnosis
  28. Thiosulfate in urine as a facilitator in the diagnosis of prostate cancer for patients with prostate-specific antigen less or equal 10 ng/mL
  29. Anemia and iron biomarkers in patients with early breast cancer. Diagnostic value of hepcidin and soluble transferrin receptor quantification1)
  30. Sensitive detection of EML4-ALK fusion oncoprotein of lung cancer by in situ proximity ligation assay
  31. Re-evaluation of laboratory predictors of response to current anemia treatment regimens of erythropoiesis stimulating agents in cancer patients
  32. Cardiovascular Diseases
  33. Evaluation of four sensitive troponin assays for risk assessment in acute coronary syndromes using a new clinically oriented approach for comparison of assays
  34. A combined index of cardiac biomarkers as a risk factor for early cardiovascular mortality in hemodialysis patients
  35. Prognostic utility of biochemical markers of cardiovascular risk: impact of biological variability
  36. Letters to the Editors
  37. Exploring the relationship between serum biomarkers, acute intracerebral changes and outcome after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI)
  38. Laboratory false-positive results: a clinician responsibility or a shared responsibility with requesting clinicians?
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  40. High concentration of IgM-κ paraprotein causes over-estimation of serum total protein by certain biuret method
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  42. Alveolar neopterin, procalcitonin, and IL-6 in relation to serum levels and severity of lung injury in ARDS
  43. Falsely elevated cobalamin concentration in multiple assays in a patient with pernicious anemia: a case study
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  45. Research forever – Klaus Jung
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