Plasma levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines as biomarkers of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is considered a low-grade chronic and inflammatory disease, so the actions of cytokines are important in the development of the disease. Our objective was to evaluate the plasma levels of cytokines IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, and TNF-α as possible biomarkers of T2DM risk in patients of the Cardiovascular Program of a health institution in Cali.
Materials and methods: A total of 113 patients were included, of whom 33 were diabetics and 80 individuals without a clinical diagnosis of diabetes. Plasma concentrations of IL-4, IL-6, IL-10,IL-12 and TNF-α were measured and their association with disease risk factors was established. Results: High blood pressure (OR: 5.076; CI: 1.831-14.084), ages between 56 and 65 years (OR:
2.945; CI: 1.168-7.42), dyslipidemias (OR: 2.703; 1.175-6.211), high levels of TNF-α (OR: 2.625; CI:1.135-6.072), IL-6 (OR: 21.048; CI: 7.470-59.306) and IL-12 (OR: 2.432; CI: 1.060-5.580) were associated with greater diabetes risk. However, in multivariate analysis, only IL-6 maintained a positive
association with diabetes risk (OR=16.667; 95% CI: 2.39-112.35; P<0.05) and was an independent predictor of DM2. Conclusion: The higher levels of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-12 and TNF-α in patients with T2DM compared to the control group indicate that the inflammatory state in diabetic patients would be playing an important role in the pathogenesis of T2DM. Multivariate analysis showed a positive association between the plasmatic level of IL-6 and T2DM, therefore, the measurement of the levels of this cytokine could help in the prediction of the disease.