Nephrin – a biomarker of early glomerular injury

Nephrin is a 180 KD trans-membrane protein expressed in glomerular podocytes. It was first identified in children with congenital nephrotic syndrome of the Finnish type (NPHS1). Nephrin forms an integral part of podocytes, which—together with endothelial cells and the basement—form the glomerular filtration barrier. Podocytopathies result in the detection of nephrin in the urine. We reviewed the literature to determine if urine nephrin measurements could become useful as a biomarker to detect early podocyte injury. Our search identified a total of 19 studies that have been published to date. The most common clinical conditions for which urine nephrin analyses were carried out included diabetic nephropathy, glomerulonephritis and pre-eclampsia. Nephrin measurement was carried out using commercially available ELISA kits, the messenger ribonucleic acid real-time polymerase chain Reaction, or electrophoresis. Nephrinuria showed positive correlation with proteinuria and severity of podocyte injury. In two studies, the level of nephrinuria declined in conjunction with clinical improvement in the patient following immunosuppressive treatment. Currently, there is no published data on the value of measuring urinary nephrin in pediatric patients.