# Research Project Core 2

> **NIH NIH P50** · CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA · 2021 · $34,837

## Abstract

PROJECT 2 ABSTRACT
“DERIVATION AND VALIDATION OF IMAGING BIOMARKERS FOR CKD PROGRESSION”
There is a need for biomarkers that can identify children with Congenital Anomalies of the Kidneys and Urinary
Tract (CAKUT) early in life at high risk of future CKD progression. Early identification of children who are at
highest risk of CKD progression would help guide trials of therapies for those most likely to benefit from early
treatment and spare those patients at low risk of progression potential treatment-associated harms. Two potential
biomarkers of CKD progression that are available immediately after birth are renal parenchymal area (RPA) and
kidney echogenicity. RPA is the gross area of the kidney in maximal longitudinal length minus the area of the
collecting system. RPA “corrects” for a dilated collecting system, which is present in many children with CAKUT,
and thus better estimates the functional area of the kidney than the currently used measurement of kidney length.
RPA may measure the functional reserve of the kidneys, with smaller areas associated with lower nephron mass
and greater probability of CKD progression. Kidney echogenicity is easily assessed on ultrasound and may
predict CKD progression independent of RPA. If RPA estimates the quantity of the kidney parenchyma,
echogenicity measures the quality of the remaining nephron mass. However, because kidney echogenicity is
currently subjectively assessed and ways to measure kidney echogenicity have not been developed, its present
utility as a clinical biomarker of CKD progression is limited. This proposed research will develop a method to
objectively measure kidney echogenicity and then, using the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) study,
will validate RPA and kidney echogenicity as two novel anatomic biomarkers of CKD progression among children
with CAKUT. The advantages of these biomarkers are that they may predict CKD progression prior to the
appearance of later serum or urine biomarkers, such as nadir creatinine or proteinuria, and can be measured
non-invasively immediately after birth on routine clinical imaging. We will evaluate the use of RPA as a predictor
of kidney function decline, and will develop an automated method to reliably and accurately measure kidney
echogenicity among a cohort of 100 children without and with CKD at CHOP, and then will use ROC analysis to
validate these imaging biomarkers of CKD progression among children with CAKUT enrolled in CKiD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10241470
- **Project number:** 5P50DK114786-05
- **Recipient organization:** CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Gregory Edward Tasian
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $34,837
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-18 → 2022-09-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10241470

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10241470, Research Project Core 2 (5P50DK114786-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10241470. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*