Urinary podocyte-associated mRNA profile in Egyptian type 2 diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy / Iman Abdulrahman Tohamy Zanoon; Supervised Mohamed Gamal Eldin Saadi , Hala Essam Eldin Kahla , Mervat Saad Elansary

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Internal Medicine

Background: Microalbuminuria is still regarded as the gold standard for diagnosing of DN, however its predictive powers are very limited. Also microalbuminuria is a nonspecific indicator of many forms of kidney injury. Thus, there is a substantial need for a biomarker that may enable detection of diabetic nephropathy at an earlier stage with higher accuracy. A biomarker derived from the urine is particularly useful, as it has the advantages of being a simple, noninvasive test and is a direct conduit to the site of injury. Podocyte injury and subsequent excretion in urine play a crucial role in the pathogenesis and progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Quantification of messenger RNA expression in urinary sediment by real-time PCR is emerging as a noninvasive method of screening DN-associated biomarkers. Objectives: the aim of our work is to study the expression of podocyte-associated genes in urinary sediment and their relation to disease severity in type 2 diabetic Egyptian patients with diabetic nephropathy. Subjects and methods: Diabetic patients (n=60) and healthy controls (n=20) were enrolled in this study. Diabetic patients were divided- according to their urinary albumin excretion (UAE)-into a normoalbuminuria group (UAE less than 30 mg/g, n=20), a microalbuminuria group (UAE between 30 and 300 mg/g, n=20), and a macroalbuminuria group (UAE more than 300 mg/g, n=20). Relative mRNA abundance of nephrin, podocalyxin, and podocin were quantified, and correlations between target mRNAs and clinical parameters were examined

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