Abstract

Background: Oxidative stress and inflammatory reactions are known to hold an important role in the etiopathogeny and persistence of acute or chronic clinical entities. Isoprostanes - a group of prostaglandin-like compounds, active products of arachidonic acid - have proved to be representative biomarkers of lipid peroxidation. The aim of this study was to determine the activity of serum 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α (8iPGF2α), as an in vivo oxidative stress marker, in paediatric patients with diabetes mellitus type 1(DM1) and in a control group. The main goals of this study were the following: establishing a possible correlation between the activity of 8iPGF2α and the presence of an autoimmune disease associated with DM1 and identifying a possible correlation between 8iPGF2α, the value of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and the pancreatic autoimmune markers GAD65, IA2, IA in the group of patients with DM1 and other associated autoimmune diseases.
Methods: Fifty-one children and adolescents (31 males) aged 11.65 ± 4.1 years with DM1 were enrolled in the study. Twenty-seven healthy children, age- and gender-matched, were enrolled as controls. Patients and controls underwent the 8iPGF2α assessment through an ELISA serum method.
Results: The mean 8iPGF2α value was 2090.6 ± 3536.5 in the DM1 patient group and 509.9 ± 493.5 in controls (p = 0.03). The mean 8iPGF2α value was 2178.19 ± 4017.05 in patients with DM1 who did not suffer from other associated autoimmune diseases (n = 38) vs. 1834.95 ± 1504.73 in patients with DM1 and other associated autoimmune diseases (n = 13) (p = 0.76). The correlation between the 8iPGF2α and the HbA1c values was determined by obtaining a correlation coefficient r = 0.38 and p = 0.0057. No correlation was observed between GAD65 and 8iPGF2α (r = 0.3; p = 0.29), IA2 and 8iPGF2α (r = -0.02; p = 0.92), IAA and 8iPGF2α (r = 0.4; p = 0.12).
Conclusions: Oxidative stress reactions are more intense in patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 than in healthy patients. Similar results were obtained in patients associating other autoimmune diseases. 8iPGF2α can be an ideal marker for determining oxidative reactions in vivo.

DOI: 10.7754/Clin.Lab.2013.121141