ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the serum amyloid A (SAA) and interleukin-18(IL-18)concentration in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its macrovascular complications, and study the relation between them. Methods ELISA was used to assay serum SAA and IL-18 levels in 65 T2DM patients (including 31 cases with macrovascular complications) and 30 healthy controls. Results Serum SAA and IL-18 levels [(3.09±0.96)mg/L, (98.8±36.4)ng/L]were significantly elevated in patients with T2DM as compared with those in control subjects [(1.06±0.45)mg/L, (58.9±15.6)ng/L](P<0.05). There was significant difference of SAA and IL-18 levels between T2DM patients with [(6.34±1.52) mg/L,(141.2±48.3)ng/L]and without macrovascukar complications [(2.65±0.39)mg/L, (80.2±20.1)ng/L](P < 0.05).Univariate linear regression analysis showed significant positive correlations between serum IL-18 with SAA (r =0.615, P<0.05), SAA, IL-18 and fasting blood glucose (FBG) had mutual positive correlations (r=0.312, 0.428, P< 0.05, respectively). Conclusions In patients with T2DM, serum SAA and IL-18 concentration is greater than in non-diabetic subjects. SAA and IL-18 play important roles in the initiation and development of T2DM. The study suggests that SAA and IL-18 might be an important independent risk factor.
