LCN2 and acute kidney injury: We investigated the mRNA expression levels of several kidney injury marker genes and found that neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin protein (Lcn2) and kidney injury molecule-1 (Kim-1) levels were significantly higher in the SA-AKI kidneys; we also found elevated expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNFa) and interleukin-6 (Il6) (Figure 1C).