title: Increased soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels in the sera of type 1 diabetic patients.
abstract: Recently, the presence of a soluble form of IL-2 receptor (IL-2RS) in human sera and in supernatants of PHA-stimulated lymphocytes has been demonstrated. It has been suggested that autoimmune diseases could be characterized by a defect in production of IL-2RS, unlike immunoproliferative disorders which are characterized by overproduction. Our aim was to investigate serum IL-2RS levels in 35 newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetic patients, in 25 age-matched healthy blood donors and in five patients with Hodgkin's disease. We found that newly diagnosed diabetic patients have higher IL-2RS levels (424.8 +/- 203 U/ml) than normal controls (252.4 +/- 38.4 U/ml) (p less than 0.005). In 22 out of 35 patients (62.8%) the IL-2RS values were above the higher 95% tolerance limit of controls. Furthermore, the persistence of high IL-2RS levels was observed in 18/35 diabetic patients six months after diagnosis (470 +/- 195.6 U/ml). The increased levels were not correlated with glycaemic and HbA1c levels and patients' age. Our findings suggest a potentially significant role for the released IL-2R in the regulation of IL-2 dependent lymphocyte functions in Type 1 diabetes. The study of IL-2RS in Type 1 diabetes may provide a new tool for the knowledge of cytokine involvement in the disease.
authors.affiliation: Clinica Medica T, University of Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giordano
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galluzzo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marco
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pantò
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Amato
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caruso
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Bompiani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2 / Q000032:analysis*; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D015375:Receptors, Interleukin-2