Premium
Urinary MicroRNA as Biomarker in Renal Transplantation
Author(s) -
Vrie M.,
Deegens J. K.,
Eikmans M.,
Vlag J.,
Hilbrands L. B.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
american journal of transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.89
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1600-6143
pISSN - 1600-6135
DOI - 10.1111/ajt.14082
Subject(s) - urinary system , medicine , biomarker , transplantation , urine , kidney transplantation , kidney , microrna , urology , real time polymerase chain reaction , biology , gene , biochemistry
Urine represents a noninvasive source in which proteins and nucleic acids can be assessed. Such analytes may function as biomarkers to monitor kidney graft pathology at every desired frequency, thereby providing a time window to prevent graft damage by therapeutic intervention. Recently, several proteins have been measured in urine as markers of graft injury. However, the specificity is limited, and measuring urinary proteins generally lacks the potential to predict early kidney graft damage. Currently, urinary mRNA and micro RNA are being investigated to evaluate the prognostic value of changes in gene expression during the initial stages of graft damage. At such time point, a change in treatment regimen and dosage is expected to have maximum potency to minimize future decline in graft function. Both mRNA and micro RNA s have shown promising results in both detection and prediction of graft injury. An advantage of micro RNA s compared to mRNA molecules is their stability, a characteristic that is beneficial when working with urine samples. In this review, we provide the current state of urinary biomarkers in renal transplantation, with a focus on urinary micro RNA . In addition, we discuss the methods used to study urinary micro RNA expression.