Mori K, Nakao K
Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
Kidney Int. 2007 May;71(10):967-70. doi: 10.1038/sj.ki.5002165. Epub 2007 Mar 7.
Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (Ngal, 24p3, SIP24, lipocalin 2, or siderocalin) was originally purified from neutrophils, but with unknown function. Recently, it was identified that Ngal activates nephron formation in the embryonic kidney, is rapidly and massively induced in renal failure and possesses kidney-protective activity. We would like to propose that blood, urine, and kidney Ngal levels are the real-time indicators of active kidney damage, rather than one of many markers of functional nephron number (as Forest Fire Theory). Ngal is a novel iron-carrier protein exerting pleiotropic actions including the upregulation of epithelial marker E-cadherin expression, opening an exciting field in cell biology.
中性粒细胞明胶酶相关脂质运载蛋白（Ngal、24p3、SIP24、脂质运载蛋白2或铁调素）最初是从嗜中性粒细胞中纯化出来的，但其功能尚不清楚。最近，人们发现Ngal可激活胚胎肾脏中的肾单位形成，在肾衰竭时会迅速大量诱导产生，并且具有肾脏保护活性。我们认为，血液、尿液和肾脏中的Ngal水平是活动性肾损伤的实时指标，而非功能性肾单位数量的众多标志物之一（如森林火灾理论所述）。Ngal是一种新型的铁转运蛋白，具有多种作用，包括上调上皮标志物E-钙黏蛋白的表达，这在细胞生物学领域开辟了一个令人兴奋的研究方向。
