Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a condition of multi-factorial origin, involving several molecular mechanisms related to the intestinal micro-biota for its development. The micro-biota able to favor systemic exposure to the lipopolysaccharides (LPS), large glycolipids derived from the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. LPS can cause a condition of ‘metabolic endotoxemia’ characterized by low-grade inflammation, insulin resistance.

Design: We performed a study in 21 individuals (10 T2DM patients, 11 controls) mean age 56.12±13.2 years and analyzed the relationship between LPS and body mass index (BMI), age, lipoproteins, serum fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), parameters of low-grade inflammation.

Results: These groups not differed significantly in terms of total serum cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglyceride (TG), interleukin (IL)-6, C-reactive protein (CRP), BMI and age. Group ‘without T2DM’ and group ‘with T2DM’ significantly differed in terms of HbA1c level (4.3±0.23% vs 7.56±0.47%, P=0.0005). Plasma LPS levels in T2DM patients (0.46±0.31 nmol/ml) were significantly different from those in controls (0.29±0.12 nmol/ml), P=0.034.

Significant relationship between LPS and glucose (r(s)=0.3; P=0.026), LPS and HbA1c (r(s)=0.64; P=0.0049) in all patients were revealed. After separate in groups significant relationship between LPS and glucose (r(s)=0.4; P=0.003), HbA1c (r(s)=0.72; P=0.034) in T2DM patients were revealed. In controls significant relationship were not revealed.

Conclusions: T2DM patients show higher LPS level, which significant relationship with the levels of fasting glucose and HbA1c unlike control group. Due to the small number of patients in the group we did not find a relationship between LPS and low-grade inflammation, lipoproteins.