Urinary proteomics by 2DE and LC-MS/MS

Despite research progresses, the chance to accurately predict the risk for diabetic nephropathy (DN) is still poor. Our goal is to develop new predictive tools of nephropathy starting from urine, which can be easily obtained using noninvasive procedures and it is directly related to kidney. In this study, urine from children with recent diagnosis of type 1 diabetes was subjected to proteomic analysis in comparison to age-matched controls. Targeted confirmation was performed on children with a longer history of diabetes using Western Blotting and applying a urinary lipidomic approach. To definitively understand whether the observed alterations could be related to diabetic nephropathy, urine from diabetic adults with or without albuminuria, which is an indication of nephropathy, was also examined. Our results showed that lipid metabolisms of prostaglandin and ceramide, which are significantly and specifically modified in association with DN, are already altered in children with a recent diabetes diagnosis.