Description of serum symmetric dimethylarginine, creatinine concentrations and of urinary SDS-AGE pattern in ACTH-dependent hyperadrenocorticism dogs with and without proteinuria.

Serum symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) and patterns of urinary protein separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate agarose gel electrophoresis (SDS-AGE) have not been investigated as biomarkers in dogs with ACTH-dependent hyperadrenocorticism (ADHAC). This exploratory prospective study aimed to evaluate SDMA, serum creatinine (sCR), and SDS-AGE in dogs with ADHAC with and without proteinuria (ADHAC-P and ADHAC-nP, respectively). Thirty-five pet dogs classified as ADHAC-P (n=16), ADHAC-nP (n=6) and healthy (n=13) were included. Renal biomarkers were evaluated in all dogs at diagnosis. Baseline concentration of SDMA was not significantly different between the three groups (P = 0.15) whereas sCr was significantly lower in dogs in ADHAC dogs compared to healthy dogs (88.0 µmol/L [70.4-132.6; 79.2-114.4]) whether they had proteinuria or not (P = 0.014 and 0.002, respectively). However, baseline concentrations of sCr and SDMA were not significantly different between dogs with ADHAC-P dogs (SDMA, 8µg/dL [5-12; 7-9]; sCr, 57.2 µmol/L [35.2-212.2; 52.8-92.4]) and ADHAC-nP dogs (SDMA, 8.5µg/dL [7-13; 8-10]; sCr, 70.4 µmol/L [61.6-79.2; 61.6-70.4]) (P = 0.35 and P = 0.41, respectively). Proteinuria in dogs with ADHAC-P was mainly of glomerular origin (SDS-AGE pattern: glomerular in 10/16 dogs; mixed glomerular/tubular in four dogs). In our study, SDMA was neither significantly different in dogs with ADHAC whether they were proteinuric or not, nor between ADHAC and healthy dogs. Urinary electrophoresis provides additional information to the UPC and further investigations are needed to determine whether it may help identify dogs with ADHAC-P requiring specific antiproteinuric treatment.