Osteopontin and symmetric dimethylarginine plasma levels in solitary functioning kidney in children

Aim: The present study aimed to examine whether plasma osteopontin (pOPN) and symmetric dimethylarginine (pSDMA) are useful biomarkers of renal dysfunction in children with solitary functioning kidney (SFK). Methods: We measured circulating pOPN and pSDMA in 51 patients with SFK and no other urinary defects. Patients were subdivided into two groups: primary SFK (pSFK) unilateral renal agenesis (URA), and secondary SFK (sSFK) unilateral nephrectomy. The control group (C) contained 21 healthy children, with mean age 9.92 +/- 4.85 years. Immunoenzymatic ELISA commercial kits were used to measure pOPN and pSDMA concentrations. Results: Plasma osteopontin and pSDMA levels in children with SFK were higher than those in healthy participants (p < 0.05). There was no difference in pOPN and pSDMA concentrations between patients with pSFK and those with sSFK (p > 0.05). Receiver operator characteristic analyses performed to define the diagnostic efficiency of serum creatinine, pOPN and pSDMA in identifying children with Ccr < 90 mL/min/1.73 m2 among all examined children revealed no differences between all three AUCs (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Increased pOPN and pSDMA levels were observed in children with SFK. Both pOPN and pSDMA correlated with eGFR; however, the sensitivity and specificity of those markers were not better than those of creatinine.