Early View e202509978
Research Article

Blood Retention and Kidney Clearance of Renal-Clearable Gold Nanoparticles Strongly Correlate with Renal Injury Biomarkers

Samira Ahrari

Samira Ahrari

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, Texas, 75080 USA

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Yi Luo

Yi Luo

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, Texas, 75080 USA

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Xuhui Ning

Xuhui Ning

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, Texas, 75080 USA

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Qi Cai

Qi Cai

Department of Pathology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, 75390 USA

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Nilum Rajora

Nilum Rajora

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, 75390 USA

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Ramesh Saxena

Ramesh Saxena

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, 75390 USA

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Mengxiao Yu

Corresponding Author

Mengxiao Yu

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, Texas, 75080 USA

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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Jie Zheng

Corresponding Author

Jie Zheng

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, Texas, 75080 USA

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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First published: 26 June 2025

Graphical Abstract

In a doxorubicin-induced acute kidney injury model, proximal tubular injury—rather than glomerular leakage—predominantly determines the renal clearance of gold nanoclusters. The blood retention of Au₂₅(SG)₁₈ strongly correlates with proximal tubular injury biomarker KIM-1, highlighting its potential as a sensitive exogenous blood marker for proximal tubular injury.

Abstract

Renal-clearable engineered nanoparticles are typically filtered through the glomeruli and transported along the renal tubules before entering the bladder. However, the effects of glomerular leakage and tubular injury, two common features of kidney diseases, on nanoparticle transport remain poorly understood. Herein, we investigated the blood retention, kidney accumulation, and renal clearance of Au₂₅(SG)₁₈ in a doxorubicin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) mouse model. By correlating its transport with proteinuria and urinary kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), endogenous biomarkers of glomerular leakage and proximal tubular injury, respectively, we found that glomerular leakage, as indicated by a >50-fold increase in proteinuria, did not enhance its blood clearance. Instead, tubular injury significantly reduced glomerular filtration, resulting in elevated blood retention, increased kidney accumulation, and reduced renal clearance of Au₂₅(SG)₁₈. Moreover, Au₂₅(SG)₁₈ blood retention exhibited a very strong positive correlation with urinary KIM-1 (Pearson's coefficient r = 0.90), much stronger than KIM-1 correlations with conventional glomerular filtration blood markers such as serum creatinine. This suggests that Au₂₅(SG)₁₈ could serve as a sensitive exogenous blood marker of tubular injury, expanding the diagnostic potential of renal-clearable nanoparticles in kidney diseases.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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