title: Soluble Urokinase Receptor Levels Are Correlated with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis Lesions in IgA Nephropathy: A Cohort Study from China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Soluble urokinase receptor (suPAR) may be involved in the pathological mechanisms of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) changes. However, it remains unclear whether suPAR is correlated with the FSGS-like lesions in IgA nephropathy (IgAN).
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured the plasma suPAR levels in 138 patients with IgAN, and then their clinical and pathological relationships were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that the plasma suPAR levels were significantly correlated with age and renal function by both univariate and multivariate analysis in our IgAN patient cohort. Female had higher plasma suPAR levels and no significant correlation was observed between plasma suPAR levels and 24-h urine protein and highly sensitive C-reaction protein with multivariate analysis. In our cohort, sixty of these IgAN patients could be diagnosed with a type of FSGS lesions. The plasma suPAR levels were higher in the IgAN patients with FSGS lesions than in the IgAN patients without FSGS lesions by univariate (P < 0.0001) and multivariate (P < 0.001) analysis adjusting for other predictor variables, which might be helpful to differentiate the pathological changes with and without FSGS lesions. And the optimal cutoff value was 1806 pg/ml in this study. The plasma suPAR concentrations were also associated with the degree of tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis in both univariate and multivariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, the plasma suPAR levels were correlated with the percentage of crescents, not global sclerosis and arterial lesions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study suggested that the plasma suPAR levels were associated with age, gender, renal function, the degree of tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis and the percentage of crescent formation. The plasma suPAR might be a potential predictor for the presence of FSGS pathological lesions in Chinese patients with IgAN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Division of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Shui-Ming
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Division of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Division of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Mei-Xue
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Division of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Division of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Guang-Chang
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Division of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Yue-Qiang
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Division of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Division of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Shu-Wang
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Division of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Yuan-Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Division of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Yan
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Division of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Qing
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Haller
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Division of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Division of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China; Department of Nephrology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rong
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002681:China; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005922:Glomerulonephritis, IGA / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005923:Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055293:Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D055293:Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator