Abstract
AIMS/INTRODUCTION: Activation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the kidney plays an important role in renal function. The aim of this study was to investigate whether plasma and urinary angiotensinogen levels were associated with renal and cardiovascular prognosis in type 2 diabetic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We measured plasma and urinary angiotensinogen levels in the observational follow-up cohort of 234 Japanese type 2 diabetic patients (144 with normoalbuminuria, 90 with albuminuria) enrolled between 1998 and 1999 and followed them up until the end of 2008. The associations of these markers with the annual decline in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and incidence of renal and cardiovascular composite endpoints (chronic hemodialysis, myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, stroke and cerebral hemorrhage) were evaluated. RESULTS: At baseline, urinary angiotensinogen levels correlated with urinary albumin-creatinine ratio, urinary β(2)-microglobulin and inversely with eGFR. In contrast, plasma angiotensinogen levels correlated neither with these renal factors nor with urinary angiotensinogen levels. In the follow-up study (median duration: 9 years), urinary angiotensinogen, but not plasma angiotensinogen, correlated inversely with the annual change in eGFR (r = -0.51, P < 0.001).When patients were divided into four subgroups according to albuminuria and urinary angiotensinogen levels, patients with albuminuria and high urinary angiotensinogen levels showed a progressive decline of eGFR and a higher incidence of renal and cardiovascular composite endpoints. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the higher level of urinary angiotensinogen in type 2 diabetic patients with albuminuria is a high risk factor for worsening renal and cardiovascular complications.