American Association for the Advancement of Science, Science Translational Medicine, 175(5), 2013
DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3005218
Full text: Download
Urea, the toxic end-product of protein catabolism, is elevated in end-stage renal disease (ESRD), although it is unclear whether or how it contributes to disease. Urea can promote the carbamylation of proteins on multiple lysine side chains, including human albumin, which has a predominant carbamylation site on lysine 549. The proportion of serum albumin carbamylated on Lys-549 (%C-Alb) correlated with time-averaged blood urea concentrations and was twice as high in ESRD patients than in non-uremic subjects (0.90% vs. 0.42%, P