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Biomolecules
Special Issues
The Biomarkers in Renal Diseases
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The Biomarkers in Renal Diseases

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biomarkers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 4915

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Rosemary Wangensteen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Fisiología, Universidad de Jaén, Jaén, Spain
Interests: kidney health and disease; aminopeptidases; biomarkers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. María Carmen Ruiz Fuentes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Complejo Hospitalario, Universitario de Granada, Granada, Spain
Interests: kidney; nephrology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The early detection and progression of renal disease remain a challenge. Traditional markers such as serum creatinine and proteinuria start to rise when renal function has already diminished or renal lesions are evident. Therefore, the sensitivity and specificity of these markers may not be adequate for the diagnosis and prognosis of several renal pathologies. For this Special Issue, we invite the submission of experimental and clinical articles and reviews in relation to biomarkers of acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease that can increase the sensitivity and specificity of traditional markers, thus contributing to early diagnosis and prognosis in renal diseases. Articles can include biomarkers that are present in any biological sample, such as blood or urine, or even extracellular vesicles isolated from urine, which represent a promising source of biomarkers.

Prof. Dr. Rosemary Wangensteen
Dr. María Carmen Ruiz Fuentes
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biomarkers
  • acute kidney injury
  • chronic kidney disease
  • microvesicles
  • exosomes

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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12 pages, 873 KB  
Communication
Analysis of Circulating and Urinary Levels of hsa-miRNA-770-5p in Diabetic Nephropathy
by Dimitar Nikolov, Georgi Nikolov, Mariela Geneva-Popova, Stanislava Popova-Belova, Mladen Naydenov and Mari Georgieva Karusheva
Biomolecules 2026, 16(4), 545; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom16040545 - 8 Apr 2026
Viewed by 205
Abstract
Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN), also referred to as diabetic kidney disease, represents one of the most common microvascular complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and remains a leading cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide. Conventional clinical markers, including albuminuria and estimated glomerular [...] Read more.
Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN), also referred to as diabetic kidney disease, represents one of the most common microvascular complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and remains a leading cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide. Conventional clinical markers, including albuminuria and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), are widely used for diagnosis and staging but may have limited sensitivity for detecting early renal injury and predicting disease progression. In recent years, circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as promising non-invasive biomarkers that reflect underlying molecular mechanisms of diabetic nephropathy and may complement traditional clinical indicators. Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate serum and urinary levels of hsa-miRNA-770-5p across different stages of diabetic nephropathy and to assess its potential diagnostic value in relation to established indicators of renal function. Methods: A total of 257 participants were included and divided into four groups: healthy controls, patients with T2DM without nephropathy, patients with T2DM and DN in CKD stages I–II, and patients with DN undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). Serum and urinary levels of miRNA-770-5p were measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and analyzed using the 2−ΔΔCt method. Statistical analyses included comparisons between groups using ANOVA, correlation analyses with renal function parameters such as eGFR and proteinuria/albuminuria, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to evaluate diagnostic performance. Results: Serum levels of miRNA-770-5p were significantly elevated in patients with DN and in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis compared with healthy controls and patients with T2DM without nephropathy. In contrast, urinary levels of miRNA-770-5p were markedly reduced in patients with DN. Serum levels in patients with T2DM without nephropathy were slightly lower than those observed in healthy controls. Significant correlations were identified between miRNA-770-5p levels and renal function parameters, including eGFR and proteinuria/albuminuria, supporting the biological relevance of this microRNA in renal injury. ROC curve analysis demonstrated good discriminatory ability for differentiating DN from T2DM without nephropathy (serum AUC = 0.82; urine AUC = 0.79). Conclusions: hsa-miRNA-770-5p demonstrates distinct and opposite patterns in serum and urine that correlate with the severity of diabetic nephropathy. The complementary changes observed in circulating and urinary levels support the potential of miRNA-770-5p as a non-invasive biomarker that may complement conventional clinical markers and provide additional insight into the molecular mechanisms involved in the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Biomarkers in Renal Diseases)
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16 pages, 1357 KB  
Article
Urinary Metabolomics Predict Acute Kidney Injury in Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infants with Patent Ductus Arteriosus
by Moritz Niesert, Claire Cannet, Alexander Fichtner, Georg F. Hoffmann, Jürgen G. Okun, Dóra Pituk, Christian Gille, Johannes Pöschl, Sina Waldherr, Andreas Ziegler and Jens H. Westhoff
Biomolecules 2026, 16(3), 391; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom16030391 - 5 Mar 2026
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Abstract
Very preterm infants with immature kidneys exhibit high vulnerability to acute kidney injury (AKI). While AKI is associated with adverse outcomes, serum-creatinine-based diagnostics prove unreliable in early risk assessment of kidney damage. This pilot study investigated 1H-NMR spectroscopy-based metabolomics for the identification [...] Read more.
Very preterm infants with immature kidneys exhibit high vulnerability to acute kidney injury (AKI). While AKI is associated with adverse outcomes, serum-creatinine-based diagnostics prove unreliable in early risk assessment of kidney damage. This pilot study investigated 1H-NMR spectroscopy-based metabolomics for the identification of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW < 1500 g) infants at risk of AKI before and during indomethacin treatment for patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Longitudinal urine samples (0 h, 12 h, 36 h, 84 h, 120 h, 14 d, 28 d) from 12 VLBW infants receiving indomethacin for hemodynamically significant PDA were analyzed by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. In total, 150 urinary metabolites were annotated and single-metabolite and multivariate analyses were performed. At 36 h after treatment initiation, three patients (25%) developed AKI (KDIGO criteria). Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed significant differences in urinary metabolic profiles between the AKI and non-AKI groups 12 h after indomethacin initiation. Before treatment, five metabolites were significantly lower in the AKI group: adenine, creatine, dimethylglycine, 1-methylnicotinamide, and methylmalonic acid. Urinary creatine/creatinine (AUC 0.97) and 1-methylnicotinamide/creatinine (AUC 0.93) exhibited promising prognostic accuracy for the prediction of AKI. 1-methylnicotinamide/creatinine concentrations remained persistently reduced during the study. In conclusion, urinary metabolomics, particularly creatine and 1-methylnicotinamide levels, may serve as valuable non-invasive biomarkers for identifying VLBW infants at risk of AKI. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Biomarkers in Renal Diseases)
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18 pages, 3620 KB  
Article
Fecal Calprotectin as a Prognostic Biomarker for Mortality and Renal Outcomes in Chronic Kidney Disease
by So Young Lee, Kyungdo Han, Hyuk-Sang Kwon, Eun Sil Koh and Sungjin Chung
Biomolecules 2025, 15(4), 557; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15040557 - 10 Apr 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1978
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Fecal calprotectin (FC) is a biomarker of intestinal inflammation widely used in the assessment of gastrointestinal disorders. However, its role in chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unclear. Given the growing recognition of the gut–kidney axis in CKD pathophysiology, this study aimed to [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Fecal calprotectin (FC) is a biomarker of intestinal inflammation widely used in the assessment of gastrointestinal disorders. However, its role in chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unclear. Given the growing recognition of the gut–kidney axis in CKD pathophysiology, this study aimed to investigate the association between FC levels, systemic inflammation, renal outcomes, and mortality in CKD patients. Methods: We enrolled a total of 515 CKD patients who underwent fecal calprotectin measurement between 2016 and 2023. After applying the exclusion criteria (inflammatory bowel disease, ongoing renal replacement therapy, or incomplete laboratory data), 260 patients were included in the final analysis and stratified into low-FC (<102 μg/g, n = 130) and high-FC (≥102 μg/g, n = 130) groups based on the median FC value. Factors associated with kidney disease progression and patient survival were analyzed. Results: Patients in the high-FC group (≥102 μg/g) were significantly older (72.8 ± 14.63 vs. 64.02 ± 18.15 years, p < 0.0001) and had a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (55.38% vs. 42.31%, p = 0.0349), heart failure (21.54% vs. 7.69%, p = 0.0016), and history of acute kidney injury (33.85% vs. 18.46%, p = 0.0048). Elevated FC was independently associated with increased mortality risk (hazards ratio [HR] 1.658, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.034–2.658, p = 0.0357) with higher mortality rates (48.36 vs. 18.46 per 100,000 person-years). Subgroup analyses revealed stronger associations between FC and mortality in males (HR 2.160, 95% CI 1.046–4.463, p = 0.0375), elderly patients (≥75 years) (HR 2.122, 95% CI 1.209–3.725, p = 0.0088), and non-diabetic patients (HR 2.487, 95% CI 1.141–5.421, p = 0.0219). While FC was not significantly associated with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) progression (odds ratio [OR] 1.289, 95% CI 0.455–3.650, p = 0.6323), higher FC levels paradoxically predicted slower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline (OR 2.763, 95% CI 1.139–6.699, p = 0.0245). Combined analysis revealed patients with both elevated FC and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) had the highest mortality risk (HR 3.504, 95% CI 1.163–10.554, p < 0.0001) compared to those with low levels of both markers. Conclusions: FC is a potential prognostic biomarker for mortality in CKD patients, independently of traditional inflammatory markers. Further research is warranted to elucidate the mechanisms underlying its paradoxical relationship with renal outcomes and its potential role in risk stratification and therapeutic targeting in CKD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Biomarkers in Renal Diseases)
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15 pages, 2402 KB  
Systematic Review
Copeptin as a Biomarker in Chronic Kidney Disease—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
by Gabi Gazi, Robert Cristian Cruciat, Daniel-Corneliu Leucuta, Nahlah Al Srouji, Stefan-Lucian Popa, Mohamed Ismaiel, Dinu Iuliu Dumitrascu and Abdulrahman Ismaiel
Biomolecules 2025, 15(6), 845; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom15060845 - 10 Jun 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1616
Abstract
Background: Numerous studies have explored the potential of the biomarker copeptin (CPP) in diagnosing and assessing the severity of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Despite these efforts, findings have been inconsistent. Consequently, this study aimed to examine the association between CPP and CKD, [...] Read more.
Background: Numerous studies have explored the potential of the biomarker copeptin (CPP) in diagnosing and assessing the severity of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Despite these efforts, findings have been inconsistent. Consequently, this study aimed to examine the association between CPP and CKD, specifically evaluating its diagnostic value and correlation with CKD severity as classified by the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guidelines. Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus was conducted using a predefined search string to identify relevant studies. Eligible studies included those involving CKD patients classified by glomerular filtration rate (GFR) according to the Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI) guidelines or by the estimated GFR (eGFR) calculated using the MDRD formula, provided they met predefined inclusion criteria. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS). The primary outcome measured was the mean difference (MD) in serum CPP levels across the various stages of CKD. Results: A total of seven studies, comprising 2769 participants, met the inclusion criteria and were incorporated into our systematic review and meta-analysis. Notable differences in CPP levels were identified across various comparisons. Specifically, CPP levels were significantly elevated in CKD patients compared to healthy controls, with a mean difference (MD) of 12.975 (95% CI 6.572, 19.379). Additional significant MDs were observed in comparisons including controls versus CKD stages 1–2/2 (−1.600 [95% CI −3.179, −0.020]), controls versus CKD stage 3 (−9.598 [95% CI −12.959,−6.237]), controls versus CKD stages 4–5 (−28.776 [95% CI −42.925, −14.628]), and CKD stages 1–2 versus stages 4–5 (−30.475 [95% CI −46.790, −14.160]). Conclusions: Comparison between the CKD patients and healthy controls revealed significantly elevated CPP levels, suggesting a possible role in renal pathology. Furthermore, the distinct differences in CPP concentrations across various CKD stages highlight its potential as a biomarker for assessing disease severity and progression. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Biomarkers in Renal Diseases)
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