Urinary podocalyxin levels were associated with urinary albumin levels among patients with diabetes.

Diabetic nephropathy has dramatically increased worldwide. In this study, we measured urinary podocalyxin in 240 patients with diabetes. The relationship between urinary podocalyxin and clinical parameters and the effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4i) and alpha-glucosidase inhibitor (a-GI) on urinary podocalyxin levels were examined. Urinary podocalyxin levels were significantly higher in patients with microalbuminuria than in those with normoalbuminuria. Urinary podocalyxin levels were also significantly related to albumin-to-creatinine ratio. Neither DPP4i nor α-GI ameliorated the increase in urinary podocalyxin levels. Our results indicated that urinary podocalyxin will be not only an early marker but also a treatment target for DN.