The Relationship Between Soluble Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator Receptor (suPAR) Levels and Treatment Response in Patients With Glomerulonephritis: A Single-Center Experience

Aim Soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is an important protein that is reported to increase in a broad range of inflammatory processes. We aimed to determine whether suPAR is a significant biomarker in glomerulonephritis for distinguishing patients with treatment response from patients without treatment response in our study. Materials and methods This was a prospective study in which 117 patients with biopsy-proven glomerulonephritis and 54 healthy individuals without a known chronic disease (control group) were enrolled. A total of 117 patients were divided into two groups: “treatment responsive” and “treatment nonresponsive.” Blood samples were collected from the patients upon their outpatient clinic visits, and the demographical and lab parameters were compared between the groups. Results For the patient group consisting of 117 individuals, 56.4% were male, the mean age was 49.6 years, and the mean follow-up duration was 32.2 months. The most commonly diagnosed glomerular disease was focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), followed by IgA nephropathy and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, respectively. While suPAR levels were significantly higher in the patient group (166.06 ± 127.66 vs. 119.67 ± 70.53 pg/ml, p = 0.001) (suPAR level ± standard deviation), no significant relationship was found between suPAR levels, treatment response status, and disease severity. Besides, there was no significant relationship between suPAR levels and proteinuria levels, BMI of the patients, and the type of immunosuppressive agent used in the treatment and BMI. Conclusion Our study showed that suPAR levels could distinguish a patient with glomerulonephritis from a healthy individual, whereas it has no value in predicting the disease progression and treatment responsiveness.