title: Urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin for diagnosis and estimating activity in lupus nephritis: a meta-analysis.
abstract: Urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) is relatively specific in lupus nephritis (LN) patients. However, its diagnostic value has not been evaluated. The aim of this review was to determine the value of uNGAL for diagnosis and estimating activity in LN. A comprehensive search was performed on PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Knowledge, Cochrane electronic databases through December 2014. Meta-analysis of sensitivity and specificity was performed with a random-effects model. Additionally, summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves and area under the curve (AUC) values were calculated. Fourteen studies were selected for this review. With respect to diagnosing LN, the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 73.6% (95% confidence interval (CI), 61.9-83.3) and 78.1% (95% CI, 69.0-85.6), respectively. The SROC-AUC value was 0.8632. Regarding estimating LN activity, the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 66.2% (95% CI, 60.4-71.7) and 62.1% (95% CI, 57.9-66.3), respectively. The SROC-AUC value was 0.7583. In predicting renal flares, the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 77.5% (95% CI, 68.1-85.1) and 65.3% (95% CI, 60.0-70.3), respectively. The SROC-AUC value was 0.7756. In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicates that uNGAL has relatively fair sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing LN, estimating LN activity and predicting renal flares, suggesting that uNGAL is a potential biomarker in diagnosing LN and monitoring LN activity.
authors: Medical College of Chinese PLA, General Hospital of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.
authors: Y G
authors: YG
authors: Fang
authors: Department of TCM and Hematology, PLA 210 Hospital, Dalian, China.
authors: N N
authors: NN
authors: Chen
authors: Department of TCM and Hematology, PLA 210 Hospital, Dalian, China.
authors: Y B
authors: YB
authors: Cheng
authors: Department of TCM and Hematology, PLA 210 Hospital, Dalian, China.
authors: S J
authors: SJ
authors: Sun
authors: Department of TCM and Hematology, PLA 210 Hospital, Dalian, China.
authors: H X
authors: HX
authors: Li
authors: Department of TCM and Hematology, PLA 210 Hospital, Dalian, China.
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Sun
authors: Department of TCM and Hematology, PLA 210 Hospital, Dalian, China dl210tcm@163.com.
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Xiang
mesh_terms: D000209:Acute-Phase Proteins / Q000652:urine*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000071068:Lipocalin-2; D054834:Lipocalins / Q000652:urine*; D008181:Lupus Nephritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000652:urine*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000652:urine*; D012372:ROC Curve; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D000209:Acute-Phase Proteins; D015415:Biomarkers; C489506:LCN2 protein, human; D000071068:Lipocalin-2; D054834:Lipocalins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins
keywords: Lupus nephritis; meta-analysis; urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin