Progranulin and chemerin plasma level in obese patients with type 2 diabetes treated with a long-acting insulin analogue and premixed insulin analogue.

Diabetes, referred to as the first non-infectious epidemic, covers a heterogenous group of metabolic diseases marked by hyperglycemia resulting from a defect of insulin secretion and/or insulin resistance. Highly endocrine active adipocytes, particularly those located in white adipose tissue, constitute a source of cytokines, growth factors and complement component as well as adipocytokines including chemerin and progranulin could be the key molecules in the pathomechanism of hypertension, dyslipidemia, metabolic disorders or diabetes type 2. In this study, it was decided to verify the existence of possible relationships between the plasma concentration of progranulin and chemerin and the values of intermediate indices of insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance in patients, both before and after the 6-month insulin therapy by long-acting insulin analogue and premixed insulin analogue. The level of laboratory parameters in blood plasma collected from the control group and from obese individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus was estimated with the test kits using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA): the test of Mediagnost E103 GmbH GmbH, Reutlingen, Germany for progranulin; the test of BioVendor R&D, Brno, Czech Republic for chemerin. The aim of this study was to assess the progranulin and chemerin plasma level in obese individuals with type 2 diabetes, before and after 6 months of pharmacological treatment with a long-acting analogue human insulin or premixed insulin. In the blood plasma of untreated diabetics - in contrary to progranulin plasma concentration in diabetic patients after management implementation - progranulin was found to occur in a significantly higher concentration in relation to the level of this protein in the blood plasma of control group individuals. Despite the fact that 6-month therapy, both with the insulin mixture and with the long-acting analogue in people with diabetes, does not significantly affect the plasma chemerin concentration, the high, negative correlation between the progranulin and chemerin levels in the blood of individuals of the control group, and a positive one between the levels of progranulin and chemerin in people with diabetes before and after treatment was found. The conducted studies indicated the modified, in the course of diabetes type 2, mutual quantitative relations between progranulin and chemerin - the biological mediators of systemic metabolism, reflecting their active participation in the pathogenetic changes underlying type 2 diabetes. The obtained study results indicate a modification of mutual relationships of the adipocytokines assessed in the paper - progranulin and chemerin, associated with the development of the systemic inflammatory response occurring in the course of obesity which, by inducing insulin resistance, may consequently lead to type 2 diabetes. Taking into consideration the fact that the plasma progranulin and chemerin concentrations in obese patients with type 2 diabetes subjected to pharmacotherapy have not been assessed so far, it is possible that the obtained study results may cast light on the potential influence of the applied treatment on the systemic changes of the both adipocytokines involved in the pathomechanism of the mentioned disorder and thus create the possibility of implementing new therapeutic strategies in the management of patients with diabetes, which is an increasingly common, fast-spreading metabolic disease considered as a non-infectious epidemic of the 21st century.