Urine Proteomics in Kidney Disease Biomarker Discovery

Castagna A, Channavajjhala SK, Pizzolo F, Olivieri O, Annalisa Castagna, Sarath Kiran Channavajjhala, Francesca Pizzolo, Oliviero Olivieri

Human urine represents a good source for proteomic research for clinically related studies as it can be collected and processed easily and can give information about kidney-related mechanisms. Little is known about the urinary proteomic changes resulting from physiological (normal), pathological, or environmental variations, and there are few reports on hormone-related modifications of urine proteome. In our study, we highlighted the variations of urinary proteins associated with menstrual cycle or estro-progestin pill in females. We also described an association between some urinary proteins and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, which might help to improve the understanding of physiological and pathological processes when a gender-specific pattern such as the menopause-related hypertension or eclampsia is evident. We therefore support the usefulness of urinary proteomics as a valuable tool for clinically related study as it can provide information on candidate biomarkers which, in turn, need to be confirmed by multiple approaches before the use in a clinical setting.