Cystatin C: its correlation with some markers of immune system, inflammation, and its role in progression of diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes

Aim: To study the correlations between Cystatin C (Cys-C) level and values of the markers of immune system and inflammation, and clinical manifestations of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).Material and Methods. 3 groups of patients with type 2 diabetes and different stages of diabetic retinopathy were formed (21 people in each). Group I - with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), Group II - with pre-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PPDR), Group III - with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). The comparison group included patients with type 2 diabetes without vascular complications. Clinical study included: visometry, tonometry, assessing critical flicker fusion frequency, biomicroscopy of the anterior segment of the eye, ophthalmoscopy, biomicroscopy and ultrasound of the retina, crystalline lens, vitreous body, photographic recording of the fundus, optical coherence tomography. The content of Cystatin C (Cys-C), soluble forms of molecules B7.2 (CD86), 4-1BB, CTLA-4, Tim-3, LAG-3, PD-1, PD-L1, Galectin-9, proteins sICAM-1, SAA, NGAL and enzymes (MPO, MMP-2, MMP-9) was examined in the blood serum with the use of multiplex analysis.Results. As DR progresses, the level of Cys-C increases and becomes higher than in individuals with diabetes: with NPDR higher by 94.1% (p function show_eabstract() { $('#eabstract1').hide(); $('#eabstract2').show(); $('#eabstract_expand').hide(); }