Marcus' Interview & Publication
SYNLAB Germany
Dr rer nat Marcus Kleber
Biologist, SYNLAB MVZ Humangenetik Mannheim - Zentrum für Humangenetik Mannheim (ZHMA)
What inspired your research and what did it cover?
Measuring kidney function directly is very complex and time-consuming. Therefore, we widely use the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) calculation to diagnose and monitor chronic kidney disease.
However, it is well known that the calculation comes with a level of uncertainty due to the imprecision and biological variation of the measured serum creatinine or cystatin C. In our research, we included uromodulin in the assessment for a more complete overview. Uromodulin is a kidney-specific protein that shows a strong direct correlation with eGFR in patients with impaired kidney function. However, there are patients in whom only one of both markers is decreased. Therefore, our study aimed to investigate the effect of marker discordance on mortality risk.
Looking at the potential of your findings, what difference can they make?
Assessing uromodulin on top of creatinine or cystatin C has the potential to allow for a more accurate estimation of kidney function. This will lead to a more precise risk modelling of patients, which is why we find the combined use of both markers as a step towards an improved risk assessment.
Publication
Combined use of serum uromodulin and eGFR to estimate mortality risk
National Library of Medicine – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34568379/
Serum uromodulin shows a strong direct correlation with the estimated glomerular filtration rate in patients with impaired kidney function and an inverse association with mortality, butt here are patients in whom only one of both markers is decreased. Therefore, assessing serum uromodulin additionally to creatinine or cystatin C has the potential to allow a more precise risk modelling and might improve risk stratification