Measurement of urinary TGF-β1 in patients with diabetes mellitus and normal controls

Abstract Objective Increasing evidence links TGF-β1 to progression of renal fibrosis including its association with diabetic nephropathy (DN). Current ELISA assays are not sensitive enough to measure TGF-β1 in the urine of many clinically healthy individuals, even those with established renal disease. The objective of this study was to validate a sensitive urinary assay for TGF-β1 and compare levels between healthy controls and patients with established DN. Design and methods An ELISA method (RD mean ± SD 6.4 ± 11.1 pg/mL). This was significantly lower (p  Conclusion We have validated a sensitive ELISA assay for urinary TGF-β1, and demonstrated correlations with the degree of proteinuria and higher levels in patients with DN compared to controls. Additional study will be necessary in order to determine if serial testing can predict renal prognosis independent of known prognostic factors for patients with DN.