Differential association of plasma monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 with systemic inflammatory and airway remodeling biomarkers in type-2 diabetic patients with and without asthma

Sardar Sindhu; Merin Koshy; Areej Abu Al-Roub; Nadeem Akhter; Saad Al Zanki; Shamsha Ali; Sriraman Devarajan; Rasheed Ahmad

doi:10.1186/s40200-016-0264-4

Differential association of plasma monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 with systemic inflammatory and airway remodeling biomarkers in type-2 diabetic patients with and without asthma

J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2016 Sep 29:15:40. doi: 10.1186/s40200-016-0264-4. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Sardar Sindhu¹, Merin Koshy¹, Areej Abu Al-Roub¹, Nadeem Akhter¹, Saad Al Zanki¹, Shamsha Ali¹, Sriraman Devarajan², Rasheed Ahmad¹

Affiliations

¹ Immunology & Innovative Cell Therapy Unit, P.O. Box 1180, Dasman, 15462 Kuwait.
² Tissue Bank Facility, Dasman Diabetes Institute (DDI), P.O. Box 1180, Dasman, 15462 Kuwait.

Abstract

Background: Chronic inflammation is a hallmark of type-2 diabetes (T2D) and asthma. Monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 or CCL-2 is a key regulator of monocytic infiltration into the sites of inflammation. The changes in systemic MCP-1 levels and its relationship with other inflammatory/immune markers in T2D patients with asthma remain unclear and have been addressed in this study.

Methods: Plasma samples from 10 asthmatic T2D patients (Group I: BMI = 37.82 ± 9.75 kg/m²), 13 non-asthmatic T2D patients (Group II: BMI = 32.68 ± 4.63 kg/m²), 23 asthma patients without T2D (Group III: BMI = 30.14 ± 6.74 kg/m²), and 25 non-asthmatic non-diabetic controls (Group IV: BMI = 27.99 ± 5.86 kg/m²) were used to measure levels of MCP-1 and multiple cytokine/chemokine biomarkers with bead-based multiplex assays using Luminex technology. IgE/ECP were measured using commercial ELISA kits. Data (mean ± SEM) were compared using unpaired Student's t-test and linear dependence between two variables was assessed by Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) and P ≤ 0.05 was considered as significant.

Results: Plasma MCP-1 levels were significantly higher in Group I (337.95 ± 46.40 pg/mL) as compared with Group II (216.69 ± 17.30 pg/mL), Group III (251.76 ± 19.80 pg/mL), and Group IV (223.52 ± 133.36 pg/mL). MCP-1 showed differential association with tested biomarkers by correlating positively with: (i) IFN-α2, IL-10, fractalkine, and VEGF in T2D patients with asthma; (ii) IL-6 and GRO-α in T2D patients without asthma; (iii) MDC, IP-10, GM-CSF, FGF-2, and PDGF-AA/BB in patients with asthma only; and (iv) FPG and TG in non-asthmatic non-diabetic controls. MCP-1 associated with IL-1RA only in subjects with asthma.

Conclusion: The systemic MCP-1 levels were significantly elevated in T2D patients with asthma as compared with those without asthma and/or diabetes while these changes correlated differentially with important biomarkers of inflammation and airway remodeling.

Keywords: Asthma; Biomarkers; Inflammation; Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; Type-2 diabetes.