Objective: Uridine might be a common link between pathological pathways in diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to investigate the predictive value of plasma uridine for type 2 diabetes and type 2 diabetes with atherosclerosis.
Methods: Individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and healthy controls (n=218) were randomly enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Patients with T2D were divided into two groups based on carotid ultrasound: patients with carotid atherosclerosis (CA) (group DCA), and patients without CA (group D). Plasma uridine was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Correlation and logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the results.
Results: Fasting and postprandial uridine were significantly increased in patients with T2D compared with healthy individuals. Logistic regression suggested that fasting and postprandial uridine were independent risk factors for T2D. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that fasting uridine had a predictive value on T2D (95% CI,0.686-0.863, sensitivity 74.3%, specificity 71.8%). Fasting uridine was positively correlated with LDL-c, FBG, and PBG, and negatively correlated with CP-0h and HOMA-IS. The change in postprandial uridine from fasting baseline (Δ uridine) was smaller in T2D patients with CA compared with those without (0.80(0.04-2.46) vs. 2.01(0.49-3.15), P=0.010). Δuridine was also associated with T2D with CA and negatively correlated with BMI, CP-0h, and HOMA-IR.
Conclusions: Fasting uridine has potential as a predictor of diabetes. Δuridine is closely associated with carotid atherosclerosis in patients with T2D.