Urinary C-megalin as a novel biomarker of progression to microalbuminuria: A cohort study based on the diabetes Distress and Care Registry at Tenri (DDCRT 22)

The nephroprotective action of Passiflora edulis in streptozotocin-induced diabetes

“…Studies have shown that glomerular and tubular changes are strongly associated with the pathogenesis of DKD 24,25 . In line with this finding, podocyte and tubule biomarkers may predict the onset or progression of DKD [18][19][20] . Furthermore, accumulated evidence has demonstrated that urinary podocytes and tubular proteins can be positively correlated with hyperglycemia 26,27 , and interestingly, these levels are elevated even in normoalbuminuric patients with diabetes 25,28 .…”

“…Herein, we revealed the nephroprotective action of AFA extract adjuvant to insulin, as indicated by the maintenance of baseline expression levels of mRNA (Nphs1, Nphs2, Wt1, and Lrp2) and protein (nephrin, podocin, WT1, and megalin) in the kidney tissue. Interestingly, nephroprotection was also evidenced through the www.nature.com/scientificreports/ reduction of urinary loss of nephrin, podocin, WT1, and megalin, given that these proteins are markers of kidney glomerular and tubular integrity, and their loss is typically associated with the onset of kidney dysfunction [18][19][20] . Nephrin and podocin are slit diaphragm-associated proteins involved in the maintenance of the glomerular filtration barrier.…”