Effects of Empagliflozin on Urine Biomarkers in EMPA-KIDNEY
Sodium/glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors or "flozins" are medications that prevent kidney failure and acute kidney injury in a broad range of patients with kidney disease. However, exactly how these drugs exert their kidney protective effects is incompletely understood. In a large clinical trial involving patients with varying causes of kidney disease, empagliflozin reduced excretion of 2 common proteins in the urine (albumin and uromodulin). The substantial reduction in uromodulin was unexpected and is of particular interest because uromodulin is manufactured in a later part of the kidney beyond the site of action of empagliflozin. New experiments are needed to understand these results and assess whether the effect on uromodulin can explain the benefits of flozins for the kidney.
Authors
- Michaela Petrini
- Parminder K. Judge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0083-3649)
- Killian Donovan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3043-446X)
- Greco Mark Malijan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7940-386X)
- Stewart Moffat
- Natalie Staplin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4482-4418)
- David Z.I. Cherney (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4164-0429)
- Colin Baigent (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4856-7420)
- Olivier Devuyst (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3744-4767)
- Katherine R. Tuttle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2235-0103)
- Nadine Nägele
- Dilushi Wijayaratne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9216-6988)
- Dominik Steubl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7783-8560)
- Doreen Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8470-8430)
- Daniel S. Chapman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1836-4112)
- William Guy Herrington (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1172-8243)
- Martin Landray (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6646-827X)
- Roberto Pontremoli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1238-872X)
- Sibylle J. Hauske (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3319-3710)
- Richard Haynes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1179-0023)
- Christoph Wanner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8122-6225)
- Michael Hill
- Sarah Y A Ng
- Michael G. Shlipak
- Joachim H Ix
- Rebecca J. Sardell
Institutions
- San Francisco VA Medical Center (US)
- University Health Network (CA)
- Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany) (DE)
- University of San Diego (US)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- University of Washington (US)
- University of Zurich (CH)
- Heidelberg University (DE)
- University of Würzburg (DE)
- University Hospital Heidelberg (DE)
- Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- TUM Klinikum (DE)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Ospedale Policlinico San Martino (IT)
- Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust (GB)
- Boehringer Ingelheim (China) (CN)
- University Medical Centre Mannheim (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- American Journal of Kidney Diseases
- Published
- 2025-10-31
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1053/j.ajkd.2025.10.004
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Diabetes Treatment and Management
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.88