Kidney Tubule Enzymes and Extracellular DNA in Urine as Markers for Nephrotoxicity in the Guinea Pig

Abstract

Guinea pigs were given a single intraperitoneal injection of 1.35 mg/kg body weight of mercuric chloride; then various kidney enzymes and extracellular DNA were assayed in urine. Dramatic increases of all studied markers were observed on the first day following treatment. Sequential collection of urines allowed for kinetic studies: membrane markers alkaline phosphatase and γ-glutamyltransferase were first released, then cytosolic lactate dehydrogenase and mitochondrial glutamate dehydrogenase, finally extracellular DNA; DNA release is equated with cell death. The features of kidney damage revealed by comparative and quantitative studies of these noninvasive markers suggest that brush border erasure was more extensive than cell necrosis.

Cell-free DNA: the role in pathophysiology and as a biomarker in kidney diseases

“…The urinary cfDNA was proposed as a marker of kidney damage, as it increases in an animal model studying the nephrotoxicity of mercury (Ref. 124). Heat-shock proteins and cfDNA in the urine have been suggested to be a possible indicator of acute renal injury in sepsis, but clinical studies brought rather sobering results (Ref.…”