American journal of physiology. Renal physiology
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Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. · Sep 2015
ReviewMolecular phenotyping of clinical AKI with novel urinary biomarkers.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common hospital complication. There are no effective treatments to minimize kidney injury or limit associated morbidity and mortality. Currently, serum creatinine and urine output remain the gold standard used clinically in the diagnosis of AKI. ⋯ In this review, we will highlight the implications of what these patients may represent and the need for better phenotyping of AKI by etiology, severity of injury, and ability to recover. We will discuss two AKI biomarkers, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and breast regression protein-39 (BRP-39)/YKL-40, that exemplify the need to characterize the complexity of the biological meaning behind the biomarker, beyond elevated levels reporting on tissue injury. Ultimately, careful phenotyping of AKI will lead to identification of therapeutic targets and appropriate patient populations for clinical trials.