Elevated Serum Levels of Mannose-Binding Lectin and Diabetic Nephropathy in Type 2 Diabetes

Objective Inflammation and complement activation initiated by mannose-binding lectin (MBL) may be implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic vascular complications. We investigated serum MBL levels in type 2 diabetes with diabetic nephropathy (DN) and with persistent normoalbuminuria. Method Serum MBL levels were determined in 242 type 2 diabetes with overt nephropathy and 242 type 2 diabetes with persistent normoalbuminuria matched for age, sex, and duration of diabetes, as well as in 100 healthy control subjects. The prediction value of MBL was compared with HbA1c, Hs-CRP and with other known predictors. Multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression models. Results The serum MBL levels were significantly higher in diabetes with DN as compared to with persistent normoalbuminuria (P<0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for common factors showed that serum MBL levels >= 2950ug/L was an independent indictor of DN (OR=7.55; 95% CI: 3.44-19.04). Based on the ROC curve, the optimal cutoff value of serum MBL levels as an indicator for diagnosis of DN was projected to be 2950ug/L, which yielded a sensitivity of 77.2% and a specificity of 80.8%, with the area under the curve at 0.809 (95% CI, 0.769-0.848). Conclusion Our findings suggested that MBL may be involved in the pathogenesis of DN in type 2 diabetes, and that determination of MBL status might be used to identify patients at increased risk of developing nephropathy complications.