[Assessment of plasma fibronectin concentration in type 1 diabetic patients]

Fibronectin is a family of glycoproteins that are present on many cell surfaces, in extracellular matrix and in plasma. Fibronectin might play an important role in pathogenesis of chronic diabetic complications. The aim of this study was to estimate plasma concentration of fibronectin in patients with recently onset and with long duration of type 1 diabetes mellitus. Moreover, the correlation between fibronectin concentration and HbA1c, duration of diabetes and late diabetic complications was assessed. The study was performed in 18 patients with recently onset of diabetes (aged 23.8 +/- 5.3 years, HbA1c 10.63 +/- 0.83%) (group A) and 21 patients with long history of diabetes (aged 33.9 +/- 10.5 years, mean diabetes duration 9.8 +/- 5.8 years, HbA1c 9.24 +/- 2.48%) (group B). The plasma concentration of fibronectin was estimated with the use of the ELISA test. The plasma fibronectin concentration was significantly higher in type 1 diabetic patients in comparison with healthy subjects (381.00 +/- 27.42 and 297.50 +/- 25.32 micrograms/ml, respectively, p < 0.05). The values observed in the patients with recently onset and long duration of diabetes and in the subjects with and without diabetic complications did not differ significantly (p > 0.05, p > 0.05). We noticed positive correlation between fibronectin concentration and HbA1c (r = 0.35; p < 0.05) and negative correlation with patients age (r = -0.35; p < 0.05). The results of our study suggest, that plasma fibronectin concentration in diabetes is increased independently from microangiopathy but rather results from hyperglycaemia.