URINARY microRNA-21 EXPRESSION IN NEPHROPATHIES

AIM OF RESEARH. Determine the level of expression of miR-21 in the urine of patients with nephropathy and to compare it with other signs of kidney damage, including morphological. PATIENTS AND METHODS. Seventeen patients with different nephropathy confirmed by kidney biopsy were examined. Glomerular filtration rate was assessed by creatinine clearance, CKD-EPI formula. Daily urinary protein has been established. The degree of glomerulosclerosis was evaluated quantitatively; tubular atrophy, tubulointerstitial fibrosis were evaluated semi-quantitatively on a scale from one to three (0 - no changes; 1 - minor changes, 1-25%; 2 - moderate changes, 25-50%; 3 - severe changes, >50%). miR-21 expression in the urine was determined by a RT-PCR assay and calculated using the 2-deilaCt protocol. miR-21 expression in the urine of healthy donors (n=10) was taken as control. RESULTS. The level of miR-21 expression in the urine in patients with nephropathy were significantly higher than in control (0,3070 [the lower and the upper quartiles: 0,1540; 0,4060] vs 0,001 [0,0002; 0,0254] respectively; P=0,00024). There was strong positive correlation between urinary miR-21 and daily urinary protein (Rs=0,570; P<0,05). There were no correlations between urinary miR-21 and morphological changes (glomerular, tubulointerstitial sclerosis, tubular atrophy). However, the level of expression of miRNA-21 in the urine of patients with moderate atrophy of tubules (0,354 [0,308; 0,933]; n=7) was significantly higher than with minor one (0,211 [0,033; 0,038]; n=10; P=0,04). CONCLUSION. These data suggest that the level of miR-21 expression in the urine to a certain degree can be associated with the severity of renal damage in patients with nephropathies, including the severity of morphological changes, but further research is needed in this area.

microRNA, microRNA-21, tubulointerstitial fibrosis, transformation growth factor TGFβ1

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