Study the Role of Cadherin-11 as a Novel Biomarker of Kidney Fibrosis

Abstract Introduction Kidney fibrosis constitutes the shared final pathway of all chronic nephropathies and it is attributed to the pathologic deposition of ECM components in response to chronic injury. Biopsy is the gold standard diagnostic tool but it is invasive and has some limitations. CDH-11 is an excellent non- invasive biomarker of kidney fibrosis. Objectives To measure serum CDH-11 among patients indicated for native kidney biopsy correlating its levels with IFTA score of kidney biopsy to investigate its sensitivity and specificity as a biomarker of kidney fibrosis. Patients and Methods This cross sectional study comprised 100 patients clinically indicated for native kidney biopsy. All of them were subjected to measurement of serum CDH-11 on the day of biopsy. This study was carried out in Ain Shams university and Ain Shams university specialized hospitals. Results Median of CDH-11 was 3.9 (2.2–7.6), it was significantly higher in cases with Arteriosclerosis with p-value <0.001, also it was highest in grade -3 followed by 2 fo1lowed by 1 then zero of all chronicity grading scale points (Global and segmental, Tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis) with p-value <0.001, Consequently it was highest in severe, followed by moderate, then mild, and lowest in minimal IFTA with (Median 12.0 (7.6–16.0), 6.1 (4.4–7.7), 3.5 (2.2–4.6), 1.2 (0.5–2.6) respectively. The area under the curve was 0.645 and the best cut-off level was ≥5.6 ng/dl (90.9% sensitivity, 71.8% % specificity). Conclusion CDH-11 is highly sensitive and specific marker in patients with kidney fibrosis and its level can predict degree of fibrosis in different causes of kidney disease.