Serum Angpt-2: Key diagnostic biomarker for diabetic kidney disease in children

Traditionally, albuminuria has been the go-to marker for diabetic kidney disease (DKD), but it appears only after significant kidney damage. This study published in the European Journal of Pediatrics investigated whether serum Angpt-2 can serve as an earlier warning sign for DKD in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).

Nanees Abdel-Badie Salem and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study involving 90 children with short term T1DM of about 3 to 5 years. They were stratified into three groups based on their urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR): microalbuminuric, non-albuminuric, and healthy controls (each group with 30 children). They measured serum Angpt-2 levels, anthropometric data, fasting lipid profiles, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR-Cr).

Serum Angpt-2 levels were higher in both diabetic groups compared to controls and were remarkably higher in the microalbuminuric group versus the non-albuminuric group. While eGFR-Cr values did not differ significantly among groups, serum Angpt-2 showed assertive correlations with triglycerides, lipid profile and UACR. It effectively distinguished between microalbuminuric and non-albuminuric groups (AUC=0.960) and between non-albuminuric diabetics and controls. Serum Angpt-2 was highly effective at distinguishing between various stages of DKD and between diabetic patients and healthy controls based on its levels.