Uromodulin is a biomarker of kidney fibrosis

What is it about?

Biomarkers are an important clinical assessment tool in medicine as they are measurable indicators of biological processes in the body. In the field of nephrology, biomarkers can be used to estimate the severity and nature of kidney function or injury. This article reports on a new biomarker for kidney fibrosis. Fibrosis, the formation of internal scar tissue, is often seen in patients with chronic kidney disease. The biomarker, uromodulin, is a protein made only in the kidneys. Also called Tamm-Horsfall protein, it is produced exclusively in the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle, which is central to renal physiology. As one of the most abundant proteins in the urine, uromodulin is an attractive biomarker of kidney health. Many observational studies have shown that lower levels of urine uromodulin are strongly associated with greater decline in kidney function, but the explanation for this association has not been clear. The study found that interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy was independently associated with urine uromodulin levels. The authors added that lower urine uromodulin levels indicate that a greater portion of healthy kidney tubulointerstitial tissue is replaced by fibrosis, and that urine uromodulin may provide additional information on kidney tubular health for which there are currently no biomarkers.

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Photo by julien Tromeur on Unsplash

Photo by julien Tromeur on Unsplash