Proteomic identification of urinary biomarkers of diabetic nephropathy.

Objective: Diabetic nephropathy is a serious complication of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and, unless arrested, leads to end-stage renal disease. Current diagnosis consists of urine assays of microalbuminuria, which have inadequate specificity and sensitivity.

Research Design And Methods: We used proteomic analyses to identify novel biomarkers of nephropathy in urine from type 2 diabetic patients with demonstrated normo-, micro-, or macroalbuminuria.