The aim of the study was to quantify the plasma concentration of omentin-1, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and complement C1q tumor necrosis factor-related protein-3 (CTRP3) in obese patients with type 2 diabetes, before introducing insulin therapy, in relation to the plasma expression profiles of these regulatory molecules in the same patients after a 6-month insulin mixture therapy and in obese controls. Elevated plasma NGAL concentrations were found in type 2 diabetic patients as compared with subjects with metabolically healthy obesity. In turn, a 6-month insulin mixture therapy has shown a marked increase in the plasma concentration of omentine-1 and a significant decrease in plasma CTRP3 concentration in obese patients with type 2 diabetes, in relation to the values found in these patients before the implementation of insulin therapy. Insulin mixture therapy has also proved to be an important factor modifying the plasma profile of NGAL, increasing the concentration of this bioactive molecule in the plasma of patients with type 2 diabetes, after 6 months of its use, in relation to the concentration before treatment. The significant changes in the plasma profile of omentin-1, NGAL and CTRP3 during insulin therapy suggest their potential diagnostic utility in monitoring metabolic changes associated with the introduction of insulin treatment in type 2 diabetic patients.
Keywords: C1q/TNF-related protein-3 (CRTP3); NGAL; adipocytokines; adipose tissue; insulin therapy; obesity; omentin-1; type 2 diabetes.