uNGAL detection in urine by immunochemiluminescence

NGAL - neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin - is a protein that is released into the vascular bed by activated neutrophils and renal tubule cells when the latter are under stress (damage).

In clinical conditions accompanied by renal tissue damage, a whole cascade of mechanisms is triggered, resulting in a massive de novo synthesis of u-NGAL (u-urina) and its release into the urine (which makes uNGAL an early marker of various types of kidney pathology). 

The main functions of u-NGAL, are to protect the nephron (the structural-functional unit of the kidney) by promoting the survival and multiplication of cells that normally undergo cell death in acute kidney injury (AKI), and to exert a bacteriostatic effect on the urogenital tract.