Characterizing the particulate content of urine in healthy humans using flow cytometry

Abstract

There is a notable scarcity of information concerning particulate matter in urine. This study presents an initial investigation that uses flow cytometry to determine the particulate content in the urine of healthy individuals, focusing on particles within a diameter range of 0.33–70 µm. Imaging flow cytometry was combined with fluorescent tagging and a birefringence technique to characterize particulate matter in terms of concentration, type, and size. This method enabled the identification and quantification of total particles within a sample, as well as the characterization of specific subtypes, including lipid-associated particles, protein aggregates, lipid-protein complexes, particles containing calcium (such as calcium oxalate crystals), DNA-containing particles (including cells and bacteria), and crystalline structures. Benchmark ranges for particulate matter present in urine were categorized according to subgroups that account for the influence of age, gender, and time of sampling, yielding valuable insights into the total number of particles traversing the human urinary tract daily. Significantly, the analysis here suggests that approximately 320×106 particles may pass through the urinary tract each day. Examination of a range of potential correlations among samples indicated that the total particle concentrations remained statistically similar. More specifically, there were no significant concentration differences in urine samples relative to sampling time, gender, or age. These findings provide valuable insights into the variability of urinary particulate matter and lay the groundwork for future, larger-scale studies. Ultimately, this research contributes to understanding urinary tract function and may potentially lead to identifying novel markers for various health conditions.