Hepcidin expression and iron parameters change in Type 2 diabetic patients

Aim: Iron may contribute to the pathogenesis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). The aim of this study was to determine iron regulator hepcidin and iron metabolic parameters in Type 2 DM patients, the relationships among them were evaluated in this specific sub-groups. Materials and methods: The study included sixty-four people: 34 cases of diabetes and 30 age-matched controls. Serum hepcidin, IL-6, hsCRP, ferritin, sTfR, EPO as well as other clinical parameters were detected, and the associations between hepcidin levels and iron/inflammatory parameters were analyzed in diabetes and the controls. Results: Serum ferritin and hepcidin levels in diabetic patients were significant higher than the controls (p < 0.001 respectively). A positive correlation between hepcidin and ferritin, as well as between ferritin and IL-6 levels was existed in diabetes and the control groups (p < 0.001 respectively). Conclusion: All of these data demonstrated that the higher hepcidin levels in diabetic patients may be due to those higher ferritin and IL-6 levels, the elevated hepcidin might have adaptive value through down-regulated iron absorb and play an important role in pathogenesis of Type 2 DM. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.