Background Acute tubular necrosis (ATN) describes a form of intrinsic acute kidney injury (AKI) that results from persistent hypoperfusion and subsequent activation of the immune system. A glycosylated transmembrane protein, CD147/basigin, is involved in the pathogenesis of renal ischemia and fibrosis. The present study investigated whether CD 147 can reflect pathological features and renal dysfunction in patients with AKI. Methods Plasma and spot urine samples were collected from 24 patients (12 controls and 12 with ATN) who underwent renal biopsy between 2008 and 2012. In another study, patients undergoing open surgery to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) were enrolled in 2004. We collected urine and plasma samples from seven patients with AKI and 33 patients without AKI, respectively. In these experiments, plasma and urinary CD 147, and urinary L-fatty acid-binding protein (l-FABP) levels were measured, and the former expression in kidneys was examined by immunostaining.Results In biopsy tissues of ATN with severe histological features, CD 147 induction was strikingly present in inflammatory cells such as macrophages and lymphocytes in the injured interstitium, but not in damaged tubules representing atrophy. Both plasma and urinary CD 147 levels were strikingly increased in ATN patients; both values showed greater correlations with renal dysfunction compared to urinary l-FABP. In patients who had undergone open AAA surgery, urinary and plasma CD 147 values in AKI patients were significantly higher than in non-AKI patients at postoperative day 1, similar to the profile of urinary l-FABP. Conclusion CD 147 was prominent in its ability to detect AKI and may allow the start of preemptive medication.
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