Alterations in plasma transforming growth factor beta in normoalbuminuric type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients.
Transforming growth factor ss (TGF-ss) is an immunosuppressor. It plays a role in regulating cell proliferation, and deletion of its gene in transgenic mice leads to an autoimmune-like disorder. A role of this cytokine has been proposed in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes and probably type 2 diabetes. Previous studies had shown an elevated serum level in type 2 diabetes and a reduced serum level in type 1 diabetes; however, these studies did not address the onset of the alterations of TGF-ss with regard to the duration of diabetes. In this study, we compared the levels of TGF-ss in the serum of groups of patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus divided according to the duration of their disease. Twenty-six normoalbuminuric patients with type 1 diabetes and 25 normoalbuminuric patients with type 2 diabetes were divided into three groups according to the onset of their diabetes and were compared with 27 and 15 age-matched normal subjects, respectively. We conclude that in normoalbuminuric patients serum TGF-ss levels increased at the onset of type 2 diabetes and remained elevated throughout the disease; they did not change at the onset of type1 diabetes, however, they started to decrease around 2 yr after the onset of the disease.
Azar
S T
ST
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, American University Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon. sazar@aub.edu.lb
Salti
I
I
Zantout
M S
MS
Major
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D000419:Albuminuria / Q000378:metabolism*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013997:Time Factors; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism*
D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta