Tag Archives: podocalyxin
Podocalyxin and kidney diseases
I. Kostovska
Faculty of Medicine, Ss Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, North Macedonia;
e-mail: irenakostovska22@yahoo.com
Received: 16 December 2024; Revised: 10 February 2025;
Accepted: 25 April 2025 2025; Available on-line: 12 May 2025
Selectivity of blood filtration by the renal glomerulus is largely determined by the presence in its visceral epithelium of the terminally differentiated “octopus-like” cells called podocytes. Podocalyxin (PODXL) is a major transmembrane glycoprotein located on the podocytes’ apical surface. Recently, the appearance of PODXL in urine has been considered a marker of nephropathy. The purpose of this review article is to analyze the data of studies on the structural and functional features of podocalyxin and its value in diagnostic, prognostic and potential therapeutic relevance in most common kidney diseases.
Assessment of urinary podocalyxin as a biomarker of early diagnosis of hypertensive nephropathy
I. Kostovska*, K. Tosheska-Trajkovska, D. Labudovic,
S. Cekovska, O. Kostovski, G. Spasovski
Faculty of Medicine, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, North Macedonia;
*e-mail: irenakostovska22@yahoo.com
Received: 31 August 2023; Revised: 28 September 2023;
Accepted: 27 October 2023; Available on-line: 06 November 2023
Chronically high blood pressure-related kidney injury is known as hypertensive nephropathy (HN). Podocyte damage in the pathogenesis of this disease can result in the release of the sialoglycoprotein podocalyxin into the urine, so podocalyxin may be useful in the early diagnosis of HN. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships between urine podocalyxin level and clinical and biochemical parameters in individuals with HN and to assess the diagnostic utility of urinary podocalyxin as an early marker of HN. Participants (114 individuals) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study, including 30 healthy controls and 84 patients with clinically proven chronic hypertension (CH). Biochemical tests were performed on the blood samples. Urinary microalbumin and creatinine levels were measured using immunoturbidimetric and spectrophotometric methods, respectively; urinary podocalyxin level was estimated with ELISA. All CH patients were classified into subgroups according to urine microalbumin/creatinine ratio (UM/CR) and the stage of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The results obtained showed that urinary podocalyxin level was significantly increased in both UM/CR and CKD staging subgroups compared with the healthy control group. A gradual increase in urinary podocalyxin level with CKD stage, especially in IV and V stages, and the higher sensitivity of urinary podocalyxin as compared to UM/CR ratio in early detection of HN was demonstrated. It was concluded that urinary podocalyxin may be an important and highly sensitive marker for early diagnosis of hypertensive nephropathy in patients with chronic hypertension.