Uric acid (UA) remains a risk factor for the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Most observational studies showed a slight elevation in the serum UA level and this independently predicts the incidence and development of CKD. The recent meta-analysis, however, did not reach the conclusion that urate-lowering therapy with allopurinol retards the progression of CKD. The target level of serum UA if treated is another issue of debate. Our recent analysis by propensity score analysis has shown that the serum UA should be targeted below 6.0 mg/dL to inhibit the progression towards end-stage renal disease. Underlying mechanisms whereby an increase in serum UA induces kidney injury have been elucidated in animal models. Hyperuricemic models can lead to systemic hypertension, arteriolosclerosis including afferent arteriolopathy as well as albuminuria probably due to the activation of oxidative stress. Discoveries of urate transporters have elucidated the novel mechanism of UA transport in the kidney and intestine. The intestinal ABCG2 may play a compensatory role in light of decreased renal clearance of UA in CKD model rats, the trigger of which is not a uremic toxin but serum UA itself. Insulin directly upregulates URAT1 and downregulates ABCG2 in the kidney tubules, suggesting a possible link between UA and metabolic syndrome. This review summarizes the recent knowledge on the causal effect of serum UA on the kidney injury.
© 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.