Kidney: Urine Proteins – Proteinuria

Map of proteins in human urine after separation by electrophoresis.

Differentiation between Glomerular and Tubular Nephropathies

Proteinuria means an elevated amount of proteins that are excreted within the urine. An early differentiation between high and low molecular weight urine proteins is important for diagnosis and therapy. High molecular weight proteins appear in the urine when glomeruli in the kidney are not functioning properly. Low molecular weight proteins are present when the tubuli in the kidney are dysfunctional.

During my diploma thesis ‘Group separation of proteins for diagnosis of tubular nephropathies’ (1989) in the department of Pediatric Nephrology, MHH, I examined urine samples from children with kidney diseases. The figure is from this thesis.