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Updated: Jun 6, 2026
05:05
A Modified Precipitation Method to Isolate Urinary Exosomes
Published on: January 16, 2015
Urinary vesicle biomarkers and kidney function-results from the German AugUR study
Luisa Schnobrich1, Hannah C de Hesselle2, Lorena Mornhinweg1
1Institute of Physiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
Scientific Reports
|June 4, 2026
Summary
Urinary vesicle podocalyxin may predict lower albuminuria risk in older adults. Increases in urinary vesicle albumin and podocalyxin over time may indicate incident albuminuria in the elderly.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Biomarker Discovery
- Geriatric Medicine
Background:
- Chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression is linked to adverse health outcomes.
- Urinary vesicles, cell-derived particles, are under investigation for their role in disease prognostication.
- The prognostic value of urinary vesicles for CKD progression remains largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the association between urinary vesicle components and the incidence of CKD.
- To evaluate vesicular albumin and podocalyxin as potential biomarkers for CKD progression.
Main Methods:
- Prospective population-based cohort study (AugUR) with 580 participants aged 70-95.
- Isolation and characterization of urinary vesicles at two timepoints.
- Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of vesicular albumin and podocalyxin in relation to eGFR, albuminuria, and other kidney biomarkers.
Main Results:
- Vesicular albumin and podocalyxin correlated with each other and urinary albumin/alpha1-microglobulin, but not eGFR cross-sectionally.
- Higher baseline vesicular podocalyxin predicted a decreased risk of incident albuminuria.
- Increased urinary vesicle albumin and podocalyxin over time were associated with higher risk of incident albuminuria.
Conclusions:
- Urinary vesicle podocalyxin may serve as a baseline predictor for reduced albuminuria risk in the elderly.
- Changes in urinary vesicle albumin and podocalyxin levels over time could be diagnostic markers for incident albuminuria in older adults.
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