Correlation between circulating adhesion molecule levels and albuminuria in type-2 diabetic hypertensive patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Endothelial dysfunction, a common feature among hypertensive and type-2 diabetic patients, is associated with inflammation, increased levels of circulating soluble adhesion molecules (SAM), and urinary albumin excretion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of circulating SAM levels in the development of albuminuria in hypertensive type-2 diabetic patients.

METHODS

We studied 30 hypertensive type-2 diabetic patients and 30 non-diabetic normotensive subjects, and measured their VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and E-selectin levels by ELISA, and their 24-hour urinary albumin excretion by nephelometry; the levels of circulating adhesion molecules and albuminuria were correlated with the Spearman correlation coefficient.

RESULTS

We found that the diabetic patients had significantly (p < 0.001) higher levels of circulating SAM than control subjects. When levels of circulating SAM were correlated with albuminuria, we found a significant correlation between VCAM-1 levels and 24-hour urinary albumin excretion (r = 0.4, p < 0.02).

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that VCAM-1 may be a marker of nephropathy in hypertensive type-2 diabetic patients.