Study of a possible role of neutrophil chemotactic cytokine [IL-8] in the development of diabetic nephropathy

ABSTRACT

Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of interleukin-8 in the development of diabetic nephropathy and its correlation with metabolic contol and pathological stages of diabetic nephropathy. Subjects and Twenty patients with diabetic nephropathy [group I] and twenty control subjects [group II] were included. Of the subjects with diabetic nephropathy, 7 had grade I nephropathy [mild mesangial proliferation]. 5 had grade II [moderate mesangial proliferation] and 8 had grade III [severe mesangial proliferation]. Serum and urinary IL-8 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay. Detectable levels of IL-8 were found in the urine and serum of subjects with vairous stages of diabetic nephropathy. In the control subjects, neither serum nor urine IL-8 were detectd. The serum concentrations of IL-8 were higher in subjects with severe than those with mild or moderate mesangial proliferation, i.e. it increases with the progression of diabetic renal disease. Urinary IL-8 concentrations were significantly higher in diabetic subjects with moderate mesangial proliferation than in those with mild or severe mesangial proliferation. There was a positive correlation between serum IL-8 and the urinary IL-8 and proteinuria. Conclusions: These data suggest that the elevated serum and urinary IL-8 in diabetic nephropathy patients offers an additional explanation for the long sought role of several cytokines in the development of diabetic renal disease. Also, IL-8 in the urine could be used as a predictor of diabetic nephropathy