LCN2 Gene

HGNC Family	Calycin structural superfamily
Name	lipocalin 2
Description	This gene encodes a protein that belongs to the lipocalin family. Members of this family transport small hydrophobic molecules such as lipids, steroid hormones and retinoids. The protein encoded by this gene is a neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and plays a role in innate immunity by limiting bacterial growth as a result of sequestering iron-containing siderophores. The presence of this protein in blood and urine is an early biomarker of acute kidney injury. This protein is thought to be be involved in multiple cellular processes, including maintenance of skin homeostasis, and suppression of invasiveness and metastasis. Mice lacking this gene are more susceptible to bacterial infection than wild type mice. [provided by RefSeq, Sep 2015]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Lipocalin 2 (LCN2), also known as neutrophil gelatinase–associated lipocalin (NGAL) or siderocalin, is a multifaceted secreted glycoprotein that plays key roles in host defense, renal protection, metabolic regulation, and cancer progression. In the context of innate immunity, LCN2 binds bacterial siderophores—such as enterochelin—to sequester iron and thereby limit bacterial growth, an action that is central to the host’s acute response to infection."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In addition, markedly elevated levels of LCN2 serve as an early and sensitive biomarker for acute kidney injury (AKI) in various clinical settings, including critical illness, cardiac surgery, and contrast-associated nephropathy; concurrently, exogenous administration of LCN2 in animal models has been shown to protect injured renal tubules by promoting cell survival, enhancing repair mechanisms, and modulating key enzymes such as heme oxygenase-1."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "3", "end_ref": "7"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Beyond its role in antimicrobial and renal functions, LCN2 binds matrix metalloproteinase–9 (MMP‐9) and protects it from proteolytic degradation, thereby modulating extracellular protease activity that may impact processes such as tissue remodeling and metastasis."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "8"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Moreover, LCN2 is expressed by adipocytes and osteoblasts; as an adipokine, it is implicated in the modulation of insulin sensitivity and inflammatory responses underlying metabolic syndrome, while bone‐derived LCN2 has been shown to cross the blood–brain barrier to activate anorexigenic pathways via the melanocortin 4 receptor, thus contributing to glucose homeostasis and appetite regulation."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "9", "end_ref": "11"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In the realm of cancer biology, overexpression of LCN2 has been linked to the promotion of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition via the estrogen receptor/Slug axis in breast cancer, as well as to enhanced tumor progression and metastasis in the kidney and other tissues."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "12"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Finally, recent studies have uncovered a novel mechanism by which LCN2, in complex with endogenous catechol molecules, facilitates iron trafficking in nonsuppurative (aseptic) tissues, thereby expanding its role beyond microbial iron sequestration."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "14"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Collectively, these findings underscore LCN2’s diverse biological activities—from mediating antimicrobial responses and protecting renal function to regulating metabolic pathways and influencing tumor behavior—highlighting its promise as both a diagnostic biomarker and a therapeutic target.\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Trude H Flo, Kelly D Smith, Shintaro Sato, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lipocalin 2 mediates an innate immune response to bacterial infection by sequestrating iron."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nature (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/nature03104"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03104"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15531878"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15531878"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Manuela Raffatellu, Michael D George, Yuko Akiyama, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lipocalin-2 resistance confers an advantage to Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium for growth and survival in the inflamed intestine."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell Host Microbe (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.chom.2009.03.011"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2009.03.011"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19454351"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19454351"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Michael Haase, Rinaldo Bellomo, Prasad Devarajan, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Accuracy of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in diagnosis and prognosis in acute kidney injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Am J Kidney Dis (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1053/j.ajkd.2009.07.020"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1053/j.ajkd.2009.07.020"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19850388"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19850388"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Michael Bennett, Catherine L Dent, Qing Ma, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Urine NGAL predicts severity of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery: a prospective study."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Clin J Am Soc Nephrol (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.2215/CJN.04010907"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.2215/CJN.04010907"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18337554"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18337554"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jaya Mishra, Kiyoshi Mori, Qing Ma, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Amelioration of ischemic acute renal injury by neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Am Soc Nephrol (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1097/01.ASN.0000145013.44578.45"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ASN.0000145013.44578.45"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15579510"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15579510"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Chirag R Parikh, Steven G Coca, Heather Thiessen-Philbrook, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Postoperative biomarkers predict acute kidney injury and poor outcomes after adult cardiac surgery."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Am Soc Nephrol (2011)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1681/ASN.2010121302"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1681/ASN.2010121302"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "21836143"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21836143"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Kiyoshi Mori, H Thomas Lee, Dana Rapoport, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Endocytic delivery of lipocalin-siderophore-iron complex rescues the kidney from ischemia-reperfusion injury."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Clin Invest (2005)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1172/JCI23056"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI23056"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15711640"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15711640"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 8, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "L Yan, N Borregaard, L Kjeldsen, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The high molecular weight urinary matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity is a complex of gelatinase B/MMP-9 and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL). Modulation of MMP-9 activity by NGAL."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2001)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M106089200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M106089200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "11486009"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11486009"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 9, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Qing-Wu Yan, Qin Yang, Nimesh Mody, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The adipokine lipocalin 2 is regulated by obesity and promotes insulin resistance."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Diabetes (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.2337/db07-0007"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.2337/db07-0007"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17639021"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17639021"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 10, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jinhui Zhang, Yingjie Wu, Yuanyuan Zhang, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The role of lipocalin 2 in the regulation of inflammation in adipocytes and macrophages."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Endocrinol (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1210/me.2007-0420"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1210/me.2007-0420"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18292240"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18292240"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 11, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ioanna Mosialou, Steven Shikhel, Jian-Min Liu, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "MC4R-dependent suppression of appetite by bone-derived lipocalin 2."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nature (2017)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/nature21697"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21697"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "28273060"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28273060"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 12, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jiang Yang, Diane R Bielenberg, Scott J Rodig, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lipocalin 2 promotes breast cancer progression."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1073/pnas.0810617106"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0810617106"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19237579"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19237579"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 13, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Amandine Viau, Khalil El Karoui, Denise Laouari, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lipocalin 2 is essential for chronic kidney disease progression in mice and humans."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Clin Invest (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1172/JCI42004"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI42004"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20921623"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20921623"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 14, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Guanhu Bao, Matthew Clifton, Trisha M Hoette, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Iron traffics in circulation bound to a siderocalin (Ngal)-catechol complex."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nat Chem Biol (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/nchembio.402"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.402"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20581821"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20581821"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	p25, MSFI, 24P3, NGAL
Proteins	NGAL_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	3934
API
Download Associations
Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

LCN2 has 16,521 functional associations with biological entities spanning 9 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA, sequence feature) extracted from 110 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for LCN2 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

LCN2 Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of LCN2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of LCN2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of LCN2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of LCN2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of LCN2 gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of LCN2 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of LCN2 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of LCN2 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of LCN2 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with LCN2 protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with LCN2 gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of LCN2 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of LCN2 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of LCN2 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of LCN2 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing LCN2 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing LCN2 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with LCN2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with LCN2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with LCN2 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with LCN2 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with LCN2 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by LCN2 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with LCN2 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with LCN2 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with LCN2 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with LCN2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with LCN2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	DrugBank Drug Targets	interacting drugs for LCN2 protein from the curated DrugBank Drug Targets dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at LCN2 gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of LCN2 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of LCN2 gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing LCN2 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with LCN2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with LCN2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of LCN2 gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations	biological terms co-occuring with LCN2 gene in literature-supported statements describing functions of genes from the GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations dataset.
	GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing LCN2 from the GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures dataset.
	GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases	disease perturbations changing expression of LCN2 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases dataset.
	GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations	gene perturbations changing expression of LCN2 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations dataset.