Plasma levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines as biomarkers of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is considered a low-grade chronic and inflammatory disease, so the actions of cytokines are important in the development of the disease. Our objective was to evaluate the plasma levels of cytokines IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, and TNF-alpha as possible biomarkers of T2DM risk in patients of the Cardiovascular Program of a health institution in Cali. Materials and methods: A total of 113 patients were included, of whom 33 were diabetics and 80 individuals without a clinical diagnosis of diabetes. Plasma concentrations of IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 and TNF-alpha were measured and their association with disease risk factors was established. Results: High blood pressure (OR: 5.076; CI: 1.831-14.084), ages between 56 and 65 years (OR: 2.945; CI: 1.168-7.42), dyslipidemias (OR: 2.703; 1.175-6.211), high levels of TNF-alpha (OR: 2.625; CI: 1.135-6.072), IL-6 (OR: 21.048; CI: 7.470-59.306) and IL-12 (OR: 2.432; CI: 1.060-5.580) were associated with greater diabetes risk. However, in multivariate analysis, only IL-6 maintained a positive association with diabetes risk (OR=16.667; 95% CI: 2.39-112.35; P<0.05) and was an independent predictor of DM2. Conclusion: The higher levels of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-12 and TNF-alpha in patients with T2DM compared to the control group indicate that the inflammatory state in diabetic patients would be playing an important role in the pathogenesis of T2DM. Multivariate analysis showed a positive association between the plasmatic level of IL-6 and T2DM, therefore, the measurement of the levels of this cytokine could help in the prediction of the disease.