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Urinary tissue plasminogen activator in renal disease
C Heussen-Schemmer1, J R Barron, C R Swanepoel
1Research Unit for Human Cell Biology of the South African Medical Research Council.
Nephron
|January 1, 1993
Summary
Tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) is normally confined to kidney tissue. Its presence in urine indicates potential renal disease, detectable by a simple fibrinolytic assay.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Biochemistry
- Urology
Background:
- Tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) is abundant in kidney parenchyma.
- Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) is the primary plasminogen activator found in normal urine.
- Physiological or anatomical barriers are thought to prevent t-PA from entering urine.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if renal disease disrupts barriers, allowing t-PA to appear in urine.
- To determine if urinary t-PA can serve as a marker for renal pathology.
Main Methods:
- Development of a simple fibrinolytic assay for detecting plasminogen activators in urine.
- Analysis of urine samples from normal subjects and patients with various renal diseases.
Main Results:
- No detectable t-PA was found in urine samples from 30 normal subjects.
- t-PA was detected in urine samples from 43 out of 65 patients with renal disease.
- The presence of t-PA in urine correlated with the existence of renal disease.
Conclusions:
- The detection of t-PA in human urine suggests the presence of renal disease.
- Urinary t-PA may indicate kidney conditions that are not otherwise clinically apparent.
- This assay provides a potential diagnostic tool for identifying renal pathology.