Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Liver-type fatty acid protein in urine of cats with kidney disease
By Katayama, Masaaki et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2020·Faculty of Agriculture, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Renal expression and urinary excretion of liver-type fatty acid-binding protein in cats with renal disease.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats with kidney disease was studied to see if a protein called liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) could help detect early kidney problems. Researchers found that cats with higher levels of L-FABP in their urine often had more severe kidney issues. This suggests that measuring L-FABP could be useful for veterinarians to identify kidney disease earlier than with traditional tests. While more research is needed, L-FABP may become an important tool for monitoring kidney health in cats.
People also search for: cat kidney disease symptoms · early signs of kidney disease in cats · L-FABP test for cats
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) is a biomarker for early detection of renal disease in humans. Liver-type fatty acid-binding protein is cytotoxic oxidation products secreted from proximal tubules under ischemia and oxidative stress. OBJECTIVE: To examine renal expression and quantify urinary excretion of L-FABP in catswith renal disease. ANIMALS: One hundred and thirty-four client-owned cats including 34 cats with serum creatinine (sCre) values >1.6 mg/dL and 10 other cats that died in clinics. METHODS: Tissue expressions of L-FABP were examined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. Urinary L-FABP (uL-FABP) and serum L-FABP (sL-FABP) levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Anti-liver-type fatty acid-binding protein antibody immunostained renal sections. RESULTS: Feline kidneys express L-FABP. Strong L-FABP signals were observed in the lumens of proximal tubular cells in 5 cats with high uL-FABP excretion, but not in 5 cats with low uL-FABP excretion. In 9 normal cats, uL-FABP index was <1.2 μg/g urinary creatinine (uCre). High uL-FABP indexes (>10.0 μg/g uCre) were detected in 7 of 100 cats with low sCre (<1.6 mg/dL) and 18 of 44 cats with high sCre (>1.6 mg/dL). There was a weak correlation between L-FABP index and sCre, serum symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), or blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and these correlation coefficients were increased by analyzing only data of cats with sCre >1.6 mg/dL. There was a weak correlation between u L-FABP index and sL-FABP in all tested cats, but not in cats with high sCre. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: This study demonstrates correlations between L-FABP and current renal biomarkers for chronic kidney disease in cats, such as sCre and SDMA. Liver-type fatty acid-binding protein may be a potential biomarker to predict early pathophysiological events in feline kidneys.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32087614/