Evaluation of kidney injury molecule-1 as a disease progression biomarker in diabetic nephropathy

KIM-1 and Diabetic Nephropathy

  • Fatima Abid Khan
  • Syeda Sadia Fatima Aga Khan University
  • Ghulam Mustafa Khan
  • Sana Shahid
Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus, Diabetic Nephropathy, KIM-1

Abstract

Background & Objective: Kidney Injury Molecule-1 (KIM-1) is a peptide whose release into circulation is specific to tubular injury. This study aimed to estimate levels of kidney injury molecule-1 in diabetic patients with and without kidney disease. And evaluate the role of KIM-1 as an early screening marker of progressive kidney injury.

Methods: This follow-up study included n=85 subjects from the diabetic clinic of Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Center (JPMC) in collaboration with Aga Khan University from November 2016 till September 2017 They were divided as: i) Group A1 (n=30) participants with diabetes for <5 years without microalbuminuria ii) Group A2 (n= 30) subjects with diabetes for 6-10 years with microalbuminuria; iii) Group B (n=25) subjects as healthy control group. All study participants were followed for 6 months and their blood glucose, urea, creatinine, electrolytes, albuminuria and serum KIM-1 were assayed.

Results: High KIM-1 at baseline was present in group A2 patients as compared to controls and group A1 (p<0.001). Higher levels were seen after six months in group A1 along with the presence of micro albuminuria (p<0.001) suggesting kidney damage. Moderate positive association were seen for KIM1 with creatinine levels (r=0.530; p<0.001), and HbA1c (r=0.576; p<0.001) in all patients. While a strong positive association was seen for blood urea nitrogen as a marker for kidney function both at baseline (r= 0.728; p=0.000) and follow up (r=0.747; p=0.001). Multiple logistic regression controlling for age showed that KIM1 was independently associated with BUN (r=0.727; p<0.001), creatinine (r=0.510; p<0.001) and HbA1c (r=0.401; p=0.008) in all groups.

Conclusion: Rising KIM-1 levels with progressive kidney damage with or without derangement of kidney function is reported in this study. This finding may pave a way towards identifying KIM1 as a prognostic marker for kidney injury.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.4.154

How to cite this:
Khan FA, Fatima SS, Khan GM, Shahid S. Evaluation of kidney injury molecule-1 as a disease progression biomarker in diabetic nephropathy. Pak J Med Sci. 2019;35(4):992-996. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.4.154

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Published
2019-07-09
How to Cite
Abid Khan, F., Fatima, S. S., Khan, G. M., & Shahid, S. (2019). Evaluation of kidney injury molecule-1 as a disease progression biomarker in diabetic nephropathy: KIM-1 and Diabetic Nephropathy. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 35(4). https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.4.154
Section
Original Articles