MONDAY, Nov. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) may serve as a biomarker for acute kidney injury (AKI), according to a study published online Nov. 11 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Raj Munshi, M.D., of the Seattle Children's Hospital Medical Center, and colleagues evaluated whether certain molecules, including MCP-1, which are produced during AKI may be excreted in the urine and serve as diagnostic markers.
In urine samples from both mice and human patients with AKI, the investigators found elevated levels of MCP-1 and its mRNA, suggesting that the gene that encodes this mRNA and MCP-1 is activated in patients with AKI. The investigators also found that changes in histones can activate the gene that produces MCP-1 using chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. The results suggest that a urine test using MCP-1 could aid in preventing kidney failure cases.
"In conclusion, these data suggest that MCP-1 has potential as a biomarker of AKI and provide 'proof of concept' that urinary histone assessments provide mechanistic insight among patients with kidney disease," the authors write.
Abstract
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