Value of urinary NGAl and KIM-1 in diagnosing early phase of diabetic nephropathy

Objective To explore the clinical changes and diagnostic significance of urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(NGAL) and kidney injury molecule-1(KIM-1) in diabetic nephropathy(DN).Methods Forty-eight type 2 diabetic patients were divided,according to urinary albumin excretion rate(UAER),into groups of normal albuminuria(NA),micro albuminuria(MA),clinical albuminuria(CA),and another 12 healthy subjects were randomly chosen as control group.NGAL and KIM-1 levels were detected by ELISA.The relationship of NGAL and KIM-1 with glomerular filtration rate(GFR) was analyzed and the sensitivities of NGAL and KIM-1 were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve in diagnosis of DN.Results NGAL levels increased with the increase of UAER in each group(all P0.05).Compared to control group,KIM-1 levels in diabetic groups elevated significantly(P0.05).Significant difference in KIM level was demonstrated between CA group and the other two groups(NA and MA)(P0.05).Pearson correlation analysis showed that urinay NGAL and KIM-1 levels were negatively correlated with GFR(r=-0.844,-0.747;P0.01),and the areas under ROC curve were 0.875 and 0.790,respectively.Conclusion Urinary NGAL level might be a sensitive indicator for clinical monitoring,so as for early diagnosis of type 2 DN.