Diagnostic proteomic markers to detect kidney diseases

Objective Early detection of kidney disorders based on selective biomarkers could permit to diagnose patients at the initial stage of the disease, where the therapy is still possible to stop or prevent occurrence of advance disease. Urinary proteomics is primarily applied to the study of renal and urogenital tract disorders. Here are reported two distinct successful examples of this approach for the discovery of early urinary biomarkers of kidney-related dysfunctions: diabetic nephropathy (DN), a well-known complication of diabetes frequently leading to dialysis, and drug-induced nephrotoxicity, a possible condition caused by medication-overuse headache (MOH). Methods Urine samples were first concentrated and desalted. Subsequently, they were subjected to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) for protein identification. Furthermore, some proteins were verified by Western Blot and ELISA test. Results In diabetes-related study, 11 differentially expressed proteins were detected (8 up-regulated and 3 down-regulated) in Type 2 Diabetic (T2D) and Type 2 Diabetic Nephropathy (T2DN) patients compared to the healthy control subjects. In MOH study, a total of 21 over-excreted proteins was revealed in urine of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and mixtures abusers versus controls. Particularly, 4 proteins were positively validated by immunoblotting and ELISA. Conclusion Urinary proteomics allows non-invasive assessment of renal diseases at an early stage by the identification of characteristic protein pattern.