Al-Kunooze Scientific Journal

Physiological Evaluation of Serum Meteorin-Like Protein and Fibroblast Growth Factor-21 as Biomarkers of Renal Dysfunction in Chronic Kidney Disease

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Rehab A.A. Alhamashi

Department of Biology, College of Education for Pure Sciences, University of Wasit, Wasit, Iraq.

https://doi.org/10.36582/ksj.2026.170737.1042
Abstract
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive disorder associated with the gradual deterioration of renal function and complex metabolic disturbances. This study aimed to evaluate circulating levels of Meteorin-Like protein (METRNL) and Fibroblast Growth Factor-21 (FGF-21) and to determine their diagnostic value and association with renal function parameters in CKD patients. A total of 90 subjects were enrolled, including 60 patients with CKD and 30 healthy controls. Patients were categorized into mild-to-moderate and advanced CKD stages. Serum METRNL and FGF-21 levels were measured using ELISA, while serum creatinine, blood urea, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were also assessed. The results demonstrated a significant reduction in serum METRNL levels in CKD patients compared with controls, with values of 245.7 ± 71.3 pg/mL and 182.6 ± 64.9 pg/mL in CKD groups versus 312.4 ± 85.6 pg/mL in controls. In contrast, serum FGF-21 levels were significantly elevated in CKD patients, reaching 214.9 ± 62.8 pg/mL and 356.2 ± 95.4 pg/mL compared with 108.5 ± 36.7 pg/mL in controls. FGF-21 showed a positive correlation with serum creatinine (r = 0.56) and blood urea (r = 0.49), and a negative correlation with eGFR (r = −0.58). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated good diagnostic performance for both biomarkers, with FGF-21 exhibiting superior discriminative ability (AUC = 0.88). These findings indicate that METRNL decreases, whereas FGF-21 increases with CKD progression, and both biomarkers are significantly associated with renal dysfunction parameters. The combined assessment of METRNL and FGF-21 may provide a promising biomarker panel for the diagnosis and evaluation of renal dysfunction in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Keywords

Chronic kidney disease
Meteorin-Like protein
FGF-21
renal biomarkers
eGFR
Crossmark
Subjects
Al-Kunooze Scientific Journal
Volume 12, Issue 3
Summer 2026
Pages 103-117

  • Receive Date 10 April 2026
  • Revise Date 17 May 2026
  • Accept Date 18 May 2026
  • First Publish Date 25 June 2026
  • Publish Date 01 July 2026

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