Urinary trypsin inhibitor and urokinase activities in renal diseases

Using an improved method of determination, urinary trypsin inhibitor (UTI) activities were assayed in relation to urokinase (UK) activities in a large group of patients with various renal diseases. In normal subjects (n = 50), the mean 24-hour values of the UTI and UK activities were 4.29 +/- 1.44 U/ml and 9.80 +/- 3.81 IU/ml, respectively. Data for renal diseases such as renal stone, hydronephrosis, renal cancer, and chronic glomerulonephritis (UTI, 5.51 +/- 2.29 U/ml (p less than 0.005) and UK, 6.88 +/- 2.64 IU/ml (p less than 0.001); n = 40), and particularly uremia (UTI, 9.90 +/- 5.68 U/ml (p less than 0.001) and UK, 3.85 +/- 2.36 IU/ml (p less than 0.001); n = 30), showed that the UTI level was increased whereas the UK level was decreased. The UTI/UK ratio more clearly demonstrated the difference between these diseases.