Gene expression of prothrombin in the human kidney and its potential relevance to kidney stone disease

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Abstract
To determine whether urinary prothrombin fragment 1 (UPTF1), which shows considerable promise as a critical determinant of calcium oxalate (CaOx) stone formation, is manufactured by the human kidney. Ribonucleic acid was isolated from eight kidneys, two spleens and one liver. Using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, mRNA corresponding to the UPTF1 portion of prothrombin was analysed by agarose-gel electrophoresis and Southern blotting. Six kidney specimens showed clear evidence of prothrombin gene expression; expression in the kidney was less than that in the liver. This is the first demonstration of prothrombin gene expression within the human kidney, a finding that not only has implications for CaOx stone disease but also potentially for blood coagulation.