| Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Diabetic nephropathy (DN), a serious and prevalent complication of diabetes, has been rapidly raising worldwide. Vaspin, as an adipokine with anti-diabetic effects, is predominantly released from visceral adipose tissue. Moreover, vaspin has the stimulatory effect on nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability through the activation of NO synthase.
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of the present study was to investigate serum levels of vaspin and their correlation with NO metabolite in diabetic patients with normal renal function and renal insufficiency.
METHODS:
Volunteers patients with non-nephropathy type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) as control (n=40, age= 56.95±6.11years) and patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN) (n=40, age=57.85±5.63years) as case group were enrolled in this study, and serum samples were collected for measurement of vaspin levels by ELISA technique. Also, serum levels of NO metabolites were calorimetrically assessed.
RESULTS:
We found that vaspin levels were significantly decreased in diabetic patients with nephropathic condition as compared with diabetic patients with normal renal function (p <0.04). In addition, serum levels of NO metabolites were significantly higher in diabetic patients with nephropathy in comparison with non-nephropathic diabetics (p<0.001). When patients with DN were studied, vaspin levels were positively correlated with NO metabolites and Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) levels.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study showed that low serum vaspin levels may be a risk factor for nephropathy in type II diabetic patients and increased levels of NO may be a defensive mechanism in DN. |