Renal System in Safety Pharmacology

If a metabolic end product or protein is small enough to be filtered at the glomerulus and is neither extensively reabsorbed or secreted, the excretion rate is primarily determined by the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) ((Clin Chim Acta 297:55–66, 2000)2000), which is considered a sensitive index of functional nephron mass ((Newman DJ, Price CP. Tietz textbook of clinical chemistry. WB Saunders, Philadelphia, 1999)1999). Thus, assessment of the plasma level of such a constituent can serve as a biomarker of renal function, and several have been used extensively for this purpose.