Department of Internal Diseases, Nephrology and Dialysis, Military Institute of Medicine-National Research Institute, 128 Szaserów Street, 04-141 Warsaw, Poland.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jun 21;24(13):10470. doi: 10.3390/ijms241310470.
Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a 25-kDa protein that is secreted mostly by immune cells such as neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells. Its production is stimulated in response to inflammation. The concentrations of NGAL can be measured in plasma, urine, and biological fluids such as peritoneal effluent. NGAL is known mainly as a biomarker of acute kidney injury and is released after tubular damage and during renal regeneration processes. NGAL is also elevated in chronic kidney disease and dialysis patients. It may play a role as a predictor of the progression of renal function decreases with complications and mortality due to kidney failure. NGAL is also useful in the diagnostic processes of cardiovascular diseases. It is highly expressed in injured heart tissue and atherosclerostic plaque; its serum concentrations correlate with the severity of heart failure and coronary artery disease. NGAL increases inflammatory states and its levels rise in arterial hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and metabolic complications such as insulin resistance, and is also involved in carcinogenesis. In this review, we present the current knowledge on NGAL and its involvement in different pathologies, especially its role in renal and cardiovascular diseases.
中性粒细胞明胶酶相关脂质运载蛋白（NGAL）是一种 25kDa 的蛋白质，主要由免疫细胞如中性粒细胞、巨噬细胞和树突状细胞分泌。其产生是对炎症的反应刺激。NGAL 的浓度可以在血浆、尿液和腹腔渗出液等生物液中测量。NGAL 主要作为急性肾损伤的生物标志物而被知晓，并在肾小管损伤和肾脏再生过程中释放。NGAL 在慢性肾病和透析患者中也升高。它可能在肾功能下降的并发症和因肾衰竭导致的死亡率的预测中发挥作用。NGAL 在心血管疾病的诊断过程中也很有用。它在受损的心脏组织和动脉粥样硬化斑块中高度表达；其血清浓度与心力衰竭和冠状动脉疾病的严重程度相关。NGAL 增加炎症状态，其水平在动脉高血压、肥胖、糖尿病和代谢并发症如胰岛素抵抗中升高，并且还参与了癌症发生。在这篇综述中，我们介绍了 NGAL 的现有知识及其在不同病理中的参与，特别是其在肾脏和心血管疾病中的作用。
