Reduced serum CTRP12 levels in type 2 diabetes are associated with renal dysfunction

Purpose Serum C1q/TNF-related protein-12 (CTRP12) is one of the newly studied families of adipokines, which is believed to be associated with type 2 diabetes. However, the relationship between serum CTRP12 levels and diabetic nephropathy remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum CTRP12 levels and renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods A total of 115 type 2 diabetic patients and 54 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. 52 patients with type 2 diabetes were in the diabetes group (T2DM). The 63 patients with renal dysfunction were diabetic nephropathy group (T2DM-DN) and were divided into microalbuminuria subgroup (31 cases) and macroalbuminuria subgroup (32 cases) according to the 24-h urine protein excretion rate. The concentrations of serum CTRP12 were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Serum CTRP12 level in T2DM and T2DM-DN groups was significantly lower compared with the control group, while CTRP12 level in T2DM-DN group was significantly lower than that in T2DM group, and was associated with the severity of renal insufficiency. After adjusting for gender and age, serum CTRP12 level was negatively correlated with the duration of diabetes, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid (UA) and 24-h urinary albumin excretion rate (UAE) in T2DM patients. Logistic regression analysis showed that serum CTRP12 level was significantly associated with renal dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus. And the duration of diabetes, total cholesterol (CHOL) and neutrophils/lymphocytes (NLR) are independent risk factors for renal dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Conclusion Serum CTRP12 may be involved in the occurrence and development of diabetic nephropathy.