Unveiling the Interplay: Antioxidant Enzyme Polymorphisms and Oxidative Stress in Preterm Neonatal Renal and Hepatic Functions.

Aims: To explore the relationship between oxidative stress biomarkers and the occurrence of acute kidney injury (AKI) alongside notable liver function disturbances in preterm neonates.

Background: Given the immaturity of kidneys and incomplete liver development in preterm neonates, oxidative stress poses a considerable threat to their renal and hepatic health.

Objective: To find out the association between various oxidative stress biomarkers and polymorphisms of antioxidant enzymes with renal and live functions.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we gathered umbilical cord blood and peripheral blood samples for assessing oxidative stress biomarkers and identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in antioxidant enzymes. Utilizing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits, we quantified these oxidative stress biomarkers. Receiver-operating characteristics curve analysis was employed to ascertain the predictive capacity of these biomarkers, denoted by the area-under-the-curve (AUC).

Results: Our findings revealed that umbilical cord heat-shock proteins emerged as robust predictors of neonatal AKI (AUC: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.8-1) with a defined cut-off concentration of 1.8 ng/mL. Likewise, umbilical cord 8-hydroxy-2-deoxy guanosine demonstrated significant predictability for liver function alterations (AUC: 0.7; 95% CI: 0.6-0.9) at a cut-off concentration of 2487.6 pg/mL.

Conclusions: We observed significant associations between SNPs in endothelial nitric oxide synthase and catalase with both AKI and impaired liver functions. Prospective studies are warranted to validate these findings, with a particular focus on exploring potential antioxidant interventions aimed at mitigating AKI and liver function abnormalities.