Urine-Based Detection of Biomarkers Indicative of Chronic Kidney Disease in a Patient Cohort from Ghana

Wasco Wruck; Vincent Boima; Lars Erichsen; Chantelle Thimm; Theresa Koranteng; Edward Kwakyi; Sampson Antwi; Dwomoa Adu; James Adjaye

doi:10.3390/jpm13010038

Urine-Based Detection of Biomarkers Indicative of Chronic Kidney Disease in a Patient Cohort from Ghana

J Pers Med. 2022 Dec 24;13(1):38. doi: 10.3390/jpm13010038.

Authors

Wasco Wruck¹, Vincent Boima², Lars Erichsen¹, Chantelle Thimm¹, Theresa Koranteng³, Edward Kwakyi², Sampson Antwi⁴, Dwomoa Adu², James Adjaye^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, Moorenstr. 5, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
² Department of Medicine & Therapeutics, University of Ghana Medical School, College of Health Sciences, Box 4236, University of Ghana, Accra P.O. Box LG 1181, Ghana.
³ NHS-Clover Health Centre, Equitable House, 10 Woolich New Road, Woolich, London SE18 6AB, UK.
⁴ Department of Child Health, School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi P.O. Box KS 9265, Ghana.
⁵ EGA Institute for Women's Health, University College London, 86-96 Chenies Mews, London WC1E 6HX, UK.

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health burden with a continuously increasing prevalence associated with an increasing incidence of diabetes and hypertension in aging populations. CKD is characterized by low glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and other renal impairments including proteinuria, thus implying that multiple factors may contribute to the etiology this disease. While there are indications of ethnic differences, it is hard to disentangle these from confounding social factors. Usually, CKD is detected in later stages of the disease when irreversible renal damage has already occurred, thus suggesting a need for early non-invasive diagnostic markers. In this study, we explored the urine secretome of a CKD patient cohort from Ghana with 40 gender-matched patients and 40 gender-matched healthy controls employing a kidney injury and a more general cytokine assay. We identified panels of kidney-specific cytokine markers, which were also gender-specific, and a panel of gender-independent cytokine markers. The gender-specific markers are IL10 and MME for male and CLU, RETN, AGER, EGFR and VEGFA for female. The gender-independent cytokine markers were APOA1, ANGPT2, C5, CFD, GH1, ICAM1, IGFBP2, IL8, KLK4, MMP9 and SPP1 (up-regulated) and FLT3LG, CSF1, PDGFA, RETN and VEGFA (down-regulated). APOA1-the major component of HDL particles-was up-regulated in Ghanaian CKD patients and its co-occurrence with APOL1 in a subpopulation of HDL particles may point to specific CKD-predisposing APOL1 haplotypes in patients of African descent-this, however, needs further investigation. The identified panels, though preliminary, lay down the foundation for the development of robust CKD-diagnostic assays.

Keywords: CKD; Ghana; VEGFA; biomarkers; cytokines; inflammation; urine.

Grants and funding

James Adjaye acknowledges support from the Medical faculty of Heinrich-Heine University, Duesseldorf. Vincent Boima acknowledges support from the University of Ghana Medical School and all participants who consented to participate in this study.