Angiotensinogen as a Predictive Biomarker for AKI and CKD After AMI: Study
A study published in BMC Nephrology explored whether serum angiotensinogen could serve as a reliable biomarker to identify patients at higher risk of developing acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease after an acute myocardial infarction.
The authors reported that elevated angiotensinogen levels shortly after the cardiac event were consistently associated with worsening kidney outcomes during follow-up. Since acute myocardial infarction triggers systemic inflammation, neurohormonal activation, and hemodynamic instability, the kidneys often become vulnerable to secondary injury. The researchers noted that angiotensinogen may reflect underlying activation of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system, which plays a central role in renal tissue stress, tubular dysfunction, and long-term decline in kidney function. This makes angiotensinogen a promising candidate for early detection of renal risk in this patient population.
The study highlighted that angiotensinogen performed well compared with routine laboratory markers, offering earlier and more specific insight into renal vulnerability. Patients with higher serum concentrations showed a clearer tendency toward persistent kidney impairment as time progressed. The authors suggested that integrating angiotensinogen measurement into early post-acute myocardial infarction evaluation may enable clinicians to identify at-risk patients well before overt renal injury becomes clinically apparent. Such early detection could support more individualized monitoring, careful hydration strategies, optimized medication use, and tailored renoprotective interventions. The findings also point toward the broader role of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system in the cascade that links cardiac events to renal decline.
Based on these observations, the researchers recommended further clinical validation of angiotensinogen as an accessible and practical biomarker. They emphasized that early identification of high-risk patients may improve renal outcomes and reduce preventable progression to chronic kidney disease after acute myocardial infarction. The authors also called for additional work to understand how angiotensinogen interacts with other biological pathways, and whether targeted therapeutic modulation may offer protective benefits. This study adds meaningful evidence to ongoing efforts to refine post-acute myocardial infarction risk stratification and enhance care for patients vulnerable to kidney complications.
Reference: Liu, Y., Chen, L., Zhao, X., Wang, Q., & Xu, J. (2025). Serum angiotensinogen as a predictive biomarker for acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease after acute myocardial infarction. BMC Nephrology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12882-025-04573-7
