Evaluation of serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) activity in dogs with chronic kidney disease

[...]serum NGAL might not be as sensitive as urine NGAL in dogs, since NGAL is also expressed in other tissues (ie, the respiratory tract, stomach and colon). [...]the overexpression of NGAL in other systemic diseases has never been evaluated in dogs. By contrast with serum NGAL, an increase in urine NGAL only occurs when the renal absorption ability of NGAL is affected due to kidney damage ( Schmidt-Ott 2011 ). [...]a urine NGAL test may be more suitable for a clinical setting in order to minimise the influence from other systemic diseases. [...]future studies should be directed at evaluating the expression levels of NGAL at various stages of renal injuries (ie, initiation, maintenance and recovery stages).