Determination of certain urinary microRNAs as promising biomarkers in diabetic nephropathy patients using gold nanoparticles

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major leading cause of kidney failure. So, early detection of DN by assessing urinary microRNAs (miRNAs) expression may be of clinical value. In this study, the diagnostic value of two urinary miRNAs (miR-210 & miR-34a) as biomarkers for diagnosis of DN was assessed using a simple colorimetric gold nanoparticle (AuNP) assay and real-time PCR. MiR-(210 & 34a) were markedly up-regulated in DN groups (micro-albuminuric and macro-albuminuric groups) compared to the non-albuminuric group and healthy controls. The sensitivity and specificity for the qualitative detection of urinary miR-(210 & 34a) using the AuNP assay were (78% and 72%) & (81% and 69%), respectively, which were consistent with the results of real-time PCR. There was a highly significant correlation between urinary miR-(210 & 34a) detected by either qRT-PCR or qualitative AuNP assay. Accordingly, this simple AuNP assay may be considered a valid test for the detection of these two urinary miRNAs as potential biomarkers that can aid in the noninvasive diagnosis of DN.