Evaluation of serum levels of Irisin as a marker of endothelial dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

INTRODUCTION: Insulin resistance and obesity have been associated with irisin, a protein in fat cells. The levels of irisin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were significantly lower than those in non-diabetics. This study aimed to examine the relationship between serum irisin levels and endothelial dysfunction in patients with T2DM.

METHODS: There were 90 participants in this study. We matched 65 patients with T2DM with 25 healthy control participants. A series of tests were performed on the participants, including fasting blood glucose, 2 hours postprandial blood glucose, glycated haemoglobin, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), TG/HDL-C ratio and albumin/creatinine ratio. In addition to measuring high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was used for estimating irisin concentrations.

RESULTS: Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was significantly lower in patients with T2DM; however, there was a non-statistically significant difference between healthy controls and patients with T2DM regarding serum Irisin level. CRP and LDL levels were inversely correlated with circulating irisin levels. In a stepwise regression analysis, only the hs-CRP and LDL were statistically significant in predicting irisin level.

CONCLUSIONS: In patients with T2DM, serum levels of irisin were inversely correlated with hyperglycaemia, body mass index and per cent body fat; this suggests that detecting irisin levels early can prevent cardiovascular diseases from progressing. According to the study results, serum irisin serves as a predictive marker for early cardiovascular disease, thus preventing the disease from progressing. There is a need for further research in order to understand how irisin contributes to the development of atherosclerosis and the development of diabetic complications.