Markers of acute kidney failure

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of determining the risk of acute kidney injury comprising determining the amount of a marker selected from VCAN, NRP1, CCL2, CCL19, COL3A1, GZMM or any combination thereof in a sample.

1 . A method for treating a patient in need of treatment with an antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory agent, or a contrast medium, comprising:
 obtaining a biological sample from the patient;   measuring expression level of at least one kidney risk factor (KRF) in the sample, wherein the KRF is selected from the group consisting of VCAN, NRP1, CCL2, CCL19, COL3A1 and GZMM;   detecting upregulation of the KRF in the biological sample with respect to one or more control samples obtained from subjects without acute kidney injury disease; and   administering an antibiotic other than an aminoglycoside antibiotic, an anti-inflammatory agent other than an NSAID, or a contrast medium other than an iodinated contrast medium to the patient when upregulation of the KRF is detected in the biological sample.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein expression levels of at least two KRFs are detected. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the expression level of the KRF in the biological sample is at least 1.2 times increased compared to the control samples. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the area under a ROC curve associated with the KRF in the biological sample is at least 0.8 using the Somer's D statistic. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein upregulation of a polypeptide or polynucleotide associated with the KRF is detected. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the biological sample is selected from the group consisting of tissue, blood, serum, plasma and urine. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein upregulation of the KRF is detected by microarray hybridization with specific probes or by PCR. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein upregulation of the KRF is detected with nucleotide sequence specific oligonucleotides. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the oligonucleotides are labeled. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein upregulation of the KRF is detected with antibodies or antibody fragments. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the patient is human. 
     
     
         12 . A method for treating a patient having a chronic disease selected from the group consisting of diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, wherein the treatment comprises administering a drug or a contrast medium to the patient, comprising the steps of:
 obtaining a biological sample from the patient;   measuring expression level of at least one kidney risk factor (KRF) in the sample, wherein the KRF is selected from the group consisting of VCAN, NRP1, CCL2, CCL19, COL3A1 and GZMM;   detecting upregulation of the KRF in the biological sample with respect to one or more control samples obtained from subjects without acute kidney injury disease; and   administering the drug or contrast medium to the patient when upregulation of the KRF is detected in the biological sample, wherein the drug or contrast medium is not nephrotoxic.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the drug or contrast medium is not an NSAID, an aminoglycoside antibiotic, an iodinated contrast medium, lithium, sodium phosphate, or an anticholinergic. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the drug or contrast medium is not an NSAID, an aminoglycoside antibiotic, an iodinated contrast medium, lithium, sodium phosphate, or an anticholinergic.