Circulating Soluble CD36 is Similar in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus versus Non-Diabetic Subjects

The aim of this study was to determine whether plasma concentrations of sCD36 (soluble CD36) are associated with the presence of type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Plasma levels of sCD36 were analysed in 1023 subjects (225 type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients, 276 type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients, and 522 non-diabetic control subjects) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Multinomial and logistic regression models were performed to evaluate associations with sCD36 and its association with diabetes types. There were no significant differences in sCD36 (p = 0.144) among study groups, neither in head-to-head comparisons: non-diabetic versus T1D subjects (p = 0.180), non-diabetic versus T2D subjects (p = 0.583), and T1D versus T2D patients (p = 0.151). In the multinomial model, lower sCD36 concentrations were associated with older age (p < 0.001), tobacco exposure (p = 0.006), T2D (p = 0.020), and a higher-platelets count (p = 0.004). However, in logistic regression models of diabetes, sCD36 showed only a weak association with T2D. The current findings show a weak association of circulating sCD36 with type 2 diabetes and no association with T1D.