Table 2.
Biomarkers of proximal tubule dysfunction, podocyte damage, and of target genes of podocyte-associated molecules
| Parameter | Group 1 (healthy controls) | Group 2 (normoalbuminuria) | Group 3 (microalbuminuria) | Group 4 (macroalbuminuria) | p* | p** | p*** | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha1/creat (mg/g) | 2.79 (2.62; 3.30) | 3.78 (3.56; 4.58) | 6.91 (6.35; 7.88) | 50.51 (29.87; 65) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0001 |
| Nephrin/creat (mg/g) | 0.08 (0.037; 0.091) | 0.11 (0.1; 0.15) | 0.8 (0.39; 1.08) | 5.92 (3.8; 8) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0001 |
| Podocytes | 0 (0; 0) | 0 (0; 0) | 0 (0;7) | 6 (4; 10) | 0.001 | <0.0001 | 0.01 | 0.0001 |
| VEGF/creat (ng/g) | 34.3 (23.5; 43,85) | 68.3 (55.4; 80) | 145.4 (111.2; 202.7) | 730 (554.97; 1120) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0001 |
| KIM-1/creat (ng/g) | 42.27 (35.75; 47.94) | 70.32 (59.5; 82.6) | 125.33 (107.87; 137.66) | 687.9 (408.06; 853.52) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0001 |
| Urinary AGE (pg/ml) | 31.3 (30.84; 32.71) | 35.78 (34.27; 38.71) | 76.43 (63; 108.2) | 731.31 (536.63; 796.12) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0001 |
| Plasma AGE (pg/ml) | 284.45 (269.1; 339.6) | 730.53 (673.88; 852.55) | 438.14 (358.76; 504.28) | 4718.16 (3838.66; 5745.25) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0001 |
| NFκB | 0.1 (0.09; 0.14) | 0.36 (0.28; 0.42) | 0.5 (0.48; 0.53) | 0.7 (0.67; 0.72) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0001 |
| GLEPP-1 | 0.1 (0.08; 0.12) | 0.35 (0.28; 0.4) | 0.5 (0.45; 0.52) | 0.67 (0.63; 0.7) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0001 |
| CD2AP | 0.15 (0.12; 0.175) | 0.4 (0.32; 0.45) | 0.52 (0.49; 0.55) | 0.61 (0.6; 0.7) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0001 |
| NPHS1 | 0.125 (0.11; 0145) | 0.3 (0.24; 0.32) | 0.45 (0.35; 0.5) | 0.65 (0.55; 0.7) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0001 |
| ADAM 10 | 0.13 (0.095; 0.155) | 0.35 (0.32; 0.36) | 0.57 (0.42; 0.6) | 0.67 (0.65; 0.75) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0001 |
| NPHS 2 | 0.1 (0.06; 0.14) | 0.25 (0.2; 0.3) | 0.42 (0.35; 0.5) | 0.65 (0.62; 0.7) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0001 |
| Alpha actinin-4 | 0.145 (0.1; 0.16) | 0.22 (0.19; 027) | 6.93 (6.37; 8.9) | 0.68 (0.63; 0.78) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.0001 |
Alpha1/creat: urinary alpha1-microglobulin:creatinine ratio; Nephrin/creat urinary nephrin:creatinine ratio; VEGF/creat urinary vascular endothelial growth factor:creatinine ratio; KIM-1/creat: urinary kidney injury molecule-1:creatinine ratio; AGE: advanced glycation end-products; NPHS1-nephrin, NPHS2-podocin, CD2AP-CD2-associated protein; GLEPP 1-glomerular epithelial protein 1, NFB-nuclear factor κB; Clinical and biological data are presented as medians and IQR, as for variables with skewed distribution; podocytes-expressed as mean ± SD; p*: group 2 vs. group 3; p**: group 2 vs. group 4; p***: group 3 vs. group 4; p: group 1 vs. group 2 vs. group 3 vs. group 4