Background and aims: Diabetic nephropathy is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among young adults with type 1 diabetes. Clinical management and therapeutic intervention from early stage of DN is of major importance to prevent progression to end-stage renal disease. Renal tubulointerstitium plays an important role in the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy. Methods: In the present study, we aimed at evaluating the levels of urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) - a tubular stress protein - from a cross sectional study of 50 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus at DEMPU categorized into two groups (normoalbuminuria and microalbuminuria) and 18 healthy controls.Results: Patients with type 1 diabetes showed increased mean uNGAL values with respect to controls; interestingly, increased NGAL levels were already found in diabetic patients without early signs of glomerular damage (normoalbuminuric). uNGAL increased in parallel with the severity of renal disease, poor glycemic control and duration of diabetesConclusions: NGAL might play an important role in the pathophysiology of renal adaptation to diabetes, probably as a defensive mechanism aiming to mitigate tubular suffering. Furthermore, NGAL measurement might become a useful and noninvasive tool for the evaluation of renal involvement in diabetic patients as well as for the early diagnosis of incipient nephropathy.