MPO and NE mRNA associated with severe albuminuric diabetic kidney disease in 70-patient study

Messenger RNA levels for myeloperoxidase (MPO) and neutrophil elastase (NE) were significantly elevated in the most severe albuminuria category of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) in a comparative study of 70 patients with type 2 diabetes, according to the study abstract. The findings applied specifically to patients classified as A3 DKD, with severely increased albuminuria, while no significant differences in either marker were detected between the normoalbuminuric and moderately increased albuminuria groups.

Patients were assigned to three groups using the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR): A1 DKD, or normoalbuminuria; A2 DKD, or moderately increased albuminuria; and A3 DKD, or severely increased albuminuria. For the analysis reported in the abstract, investigators extracted total RNA from peripheral blood leukocytes and quantified MPO and NE messenger RNA by quantitative PCR. The three groups were comparable in age, sex, body mass index, diabetes duration, fasting glucose, lipid profile and leukocyte counts.

Both MPO and NE expression levels were positively correlated with urine albumin and ACR. Multivariable regression showed that the associations between expression of the two markers and albuminuria remained independent of the clinical covariates included in the analysis. Systolic blood pressure and serum creatinine were also significantly higher in the A3 group than in the A1 group, while MPO and NE expression did not differ significantly between A1 and A2 DKD.

The authors interpret the selective elevation in A3 DKD as indicating enhanced neutrophil activation in advanced DKD and identify MPO and NE as potential mechanistic markers of severe disease. They call for validation in larger, longitudinal studies. The available evidence is limited to the abstract: the full methods, regression-model specification, uncertainty estimates and study limitations could not be assessed from the supplied material. The reported results establish associations in the 70-patient sample, but they do not show that increased MPO or NE expression precedes albuminuria, causes the renal findings or predicts DKD progression.

Subject of Research: Association of leukocyte MPO and NE mRNA expression with albuminuria severity in type 2 diabetic kidney disease

Article Title: Stage-specific elevation of MPO and NE mRNA expression in diabetic kidney disease and their independent associations with albuminuria

Article References: Rinta, R. M., Haider, F., Fariduddin, M., Arslan, M. I., & Biswas, S. K. (2026). Stage-specific elevation of MPO and NE mRNA expression in diabetic kidney disease and their independent associations with albuminuria. Molecular Biology Reports, 53(1), Article 1574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-026-12701-1

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s11033-026-12701-1

Keywords: diabetic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, albuminuria, myeloperoxidase, MPO, neutrophil elastase, neutrophil activation, peripheral blood leukocytes, quantitative PCR, multivariable regression, Stage-specific, elevation