Plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as a potential predictor of adverse renal outcomes in immunoglobulin A nephropathy

Background/Aims: Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a wellknown biomarker of acute kidney injury. We evaluated the value of plasma NGAL (pNGAL) as an independent predictor of prognosis in immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). Methods: In total, 91 patients with biopsy-proven IgAN at a single center were evaluated. pNGAL was measured using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit (RD 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.526 to 50.496; p = 0.015), proteinuria > 1 g/day (HR, 5.184; 95% CI, 1.124 to 23.921; p = 0.035), and pNGAL (HR, 1.012; 95% CI, 1.003 to 1.022; p = 0.013) were independent predictors associated with adverse renal outcome. Conclusions: pNGAL showed strong correlations with other clinical prognostic factors and was also an independent predictor of adverse renal outcome. We suggest pNGAL as a potential predictor for prognosis in IgAN, while further studies are needed to confirm the clinical value.