Association of Urinary Podocalyxin with Albumin Creatinine Ratio in T2DM Patients

Podocalyxin is a negatively charged protein located in the kidney podocyte membrane, which is a glycosylated cell surface sialomucin of the CD34 family. It is the main component of the glomerular basement membrane charge barrier and has an important role in the regulation of glomerular filtration barrier permeability. There is an argument on the association of PCX with diabetic renal complications and its probability to be a new marker for early diagnosis of diabetic renal complications. The aim of the study was determination of urinary podocalyxin levels in T2DM patients and to analyze its correlation with albumin to creatinine ratio and glycemic control. By consecutive sampling, 82 samples were selected and divided into two groups. The control group consisted of 20 healthy subjects, and the case group was 62 subjects with T2DM. Albumin creatinine ratio, serum creatinine, glycemic control, body mass index and urinary podocalyxin were measured for both groups. Significant higher levels of urinary podocalyxin were found in the case group compared to the control group (p =0.005). There was a significant difference in urinary podocalyxin levels between case groups (normoalbuminuria, microalbuminuria, and macroalbuminuria) (p<0.001). Urinary podocalyxin levels had a significant strong positive correlation with albumin creatinine ratio (p<0.001), and weak positive correlation with serum creatinine and HbA1c. Due to significant differences in urinary podocalyxin levels between the case and control group and within case groups, as well as its positive correlation with albumin creatinine ratio, it might be a good marker for the diagnosis of diabetic kidney disease.