What does lipocalin 2 do?
Christopher Anderson
Published Feb 11, 2026
What does lipocalin 2 do?
Lipocalin-2 (LCN2), also known as oncogene 24p3 or neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the LCN2 gene. NGAL is involved in innate immunity by sequestering iron and preventing its use by bacteria, thus limiting their growth.
Is Lipocalin a protein?
Lipocalins are a family of proteins that transport small hydrophobic molecules such as steroids, bilins, retinoids, and lipids that share limited regions of sequence homology and a common tertiary structure of an eight stranded antiparallel beta-barrel enclosing in internal ligand binding.
Where does lipocalin 2 come from?
Lipocalin-2 in neutrophils is exclusively produced during maturation of neutrophil precursors in the bone marrow, so any detected mRNA in the lung will originate from either epithelia or macrophages.
What is NGAL test?
The NGAL TestTM is a particle-enhanced turbidimetric immunoassay for the quantitative determination of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in human EDTA plasma for testing on automated clinical chemistry analyzer.
What is urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin?
Background: Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), an iron-transporting protein rapidly accumulating in the kidney tubules and urine after nephrotoxic and ischemic insults, has been put forward as an early, sensitive, non-invasive biomarker for acute kidney injury (AKI).
What does NGAL measure?
NGAL is also a powerful marker of kidney disease progression. Serum concentrations increase before those of creatinine and it is a powerful tool for monitoring CKD. KIM-1 and NGAL are markers of active tubular pathology.
What is NGAL urine test?
Urine NGAL concentration is an early biomarker of acute kidney injury that is highly sensitive to early injury and is a marker of tubular-specific damage. Urine NGAL is elevated well before serum creatinine, allowing for prediction of renal tubular injury and possible intervention.
Where is NGAL produced?
Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is produced in injured kidney. NGAL has been used as an early plasma biomarker for AKI in patients undergoing heart surgery. Neutrophils contain all isoforms (25-kDa, 45-kDa and 145-kDa) but the kidney produces almost exclusively the 25-kDa isoform of NGAL.
How early can urine NGAL be detected in both urine and blood after a tubular injury?
Conclusion. NGAL as diagnostic marker: Elevated NGAL level as an early blood-based marker of AKI is detectable within 2-12 hours after an ischemic/toxic insult in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Although NGAL in urine and in serum have a somewhat different origin, both are useful for early diagnosis of AKI.
What is kim1?
Kidney Injury Molecule-1 (KIM-1) is a type 1 transmembrane protein, with an immunoglobulin and mucin domain, whose expression is markedly up-regulated in the proximal tubule in the post-ischemic rat kidney. The ectodomain of KIM-1 is shed from cells.
What does Ngal measure?
What is NGAL biomarker?
Newer devices for early bedside detection of NGAL are now available. Since serum creatinine is known to be an inadequate and late marker of AKI, NGAL might soon emerge as a troponin-like early marker for AKI. Recent evidence also suggests its role as a biomarker in a variety of other renal and non-renal conditions.