Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

Early Detection of Drug-Induced Renal Hemodynamic Dysfunction Using Sonographic Technology in Rats
Published on: March 11, 2016
Urinary Vanin-1 in the detection of acute kidney injury in humans
Konstantinos Markakis1,2, Panagiota Zgoura1, Maximilian Seidel1
1Medical Department I, University Hospital Marien Hospital Herne, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Herne, Germany.
Background:
Former studies indicate, that urinary Vascular Non-Inflammatory Molecule 1 (Vanin-1) may be an early biomarker of acute tubular necrosis. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of Vanin-1 regarding the detection of acute kidney injury (AKI) and the differentiation of prerenal from intrinsic AKI compared to other known biomarkers.
Materials And Methods:
Urinary Vanin-1, Neutrophil gelatinase-associated Lipocalin (NGAL), Kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1) and calprotectin concentrations were assessed in 112 hospitalized subjects, 51 with intrinsic and 61 with prerenal AKI. 27 healthy subjects served as controls. Exclusion criteria were postrenal AKI or renal transplantation. Only patients with severe AKI were eligible. Results were expressed as urinary creatinine ratios.
Results:
Median urinary Vanin-1/creatinine was significantly higher in patients with AKI (1912 [812.1-4808] vs. 344.2 [165.2-553.4] pg/mg, p = 0.001; AUROC 0.86 [95% CI 0.80-0.93], p = 0.001). The AUROC for NGAL-, KIM-1- and calprotectin/creatinine were 0.92 (95% CI 0.87-0.97; p = 0.001), 0.96 (95% CI 0.92-0.99; p = 0.001), 0.82 (95% CI 0.74-0.90; p = 0.001), respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of urinary Vanin-1/creatinine in the differentiation of prerenal from intrinsic AKI was low (AUROC 0.64 [95% CI 0.54-0.75, p = 0.01]). The respective AUROCs for NGAL/creatinine, calprotectin/creatinine and KIM-1/creatinine were 0.71 ([95% CI 0.61-0.80], p = 0.001), 0.77 ([95% CI 0.68-0.86], p = 0.001) and 0.54 ([95% CI 0.44-0.65], p = 0.001).
Conclusion:
To our knowledge, this is one of the largest human studies evaluating urinary Vanin-1 in AKI. Urinary Vanin-1/creatinine ratio was higher in patients with AKI compared to controls. However, its diagnostic accuracy in the differentiation of intrinsic from prerenal AKI was lower than of other biomarkers.
Related Concept Videos
Acute Kidney Injury IV: Diagnostic Studies and Prevention
Acute Kidney Injury I: Introduction
Acute Kidney Injury II: Pathophysiology
Imaging Studies V: Intravenous Urography and Retrograde Pyelography
Imaging Studies II: Ultrasonography
Acute Kidney Injury III: Clinical Manifestations

