Plasma Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL) Correlations With Cystatin C, Serum Creatinine, and Glomerular Filtration Rate in Patients After Heart and Lung Transplantation

Objective

Kidney injury represents a major clinical problem in orthotopic heart transplant (OHT) patients which seriously increases the mortality rate. The aim of this work was to evaluate the utility of a new kidney damage marker—neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL)—and its correlations with cystatin C, creatinine, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) among patients after heart or lung transplantation.

Materials and Methods

We examined serum samples from 71 patients after heart transplantation, 7 patients after lung transplantation, and 20 healthy controls to measure serum NGAL using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method; cystatin C using latex immunonephelometry; and creatinine using the alkaline-picrate method.

Results

Serum NGAL levels were significantly elevated among transplant patients, but did not significantly correlate with cystatin C in the transplant group (R = .13; P = .11) or in the control group (R = .26; P = .26), or GFR in the transplant group (R = −.09; P = .25) or in the control cohort (R = .22; P = .36). In the transplant group, serum NGAL positively correlated with serum creatinine (R = .27; P = .001).

Conclusions

Plasma NGAL was not a specific biomarker for monitoring chronic renal disorders. We did not exclude other pathologies that might contribute to increased serum NGAL levels.