Increased plasma fibronectin concentration in diabetic patients with microalbuminuria

• Published in: Diabetes care Vol. 11; no. 7; pp. 527 - 530
• Main Authors: De Giorgio, L A, Bartolomei, G, Gironi, A, Caselli, P, Seghieri, G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Diabetes Association 01-07-1988
• Subjects: Albuminuria; Blood Pressure; Diabetes Mellitus - blood; Diabetes Mellitus - urine; Fibronectins - blood; Glycated Hemoglobin A - analysis; Humans; Middle Aged; Reagent Strips
• ISSN: 0149-5992; 1935-5548
• DOI: 10.2337/diacare.11.7.527

Increased plasma fibronectin concentration in diabetic patients with microalbuminuria.
L A De Giorgio ,
G Bartolomei ,
A Gironi ,
P Caselli and
G Seghieri
Outpatient Clinic for Diabetes, Pistoia, Italy.
Abstract
Raised levels of plasma fibronectin (PF), an alpha 2-glycoprotein produced by vascular endothelia, have been previously described
in diabetic patients with retinopathy and overt nephropathy. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the presence
of microalbuminuria is associated with increased PF concentrations. Twenty Albustix-negative diabetic outpatients with microalbuminuria
[median albumin excretion rate (AER): 30.2 micrograms/min; range 12.1-194 micrograms/min] were compared with 58 sex- and age-matched
patients without microalbuminuria (median AER 3.1 micrograms/min; range 0.8-12 micrograms/min) and 34 control subjects (median
AER 2.8 micrograms/min; range 0.8-12.1 micrograms/min). Mean PF was significantly higher in the group with microalbuminuria
(406.7 +/- 85.5 micrograms/ml) than in the group without it (325.3 +/- 76.5 micrograms/ml or in control subjects (334.5 +/-
76 micrograms/ml; P less than .05). PF increase associated with microalbuminuria was independent of the presence of retinopathy.
Furthermore, in the whole group of diabetic patients, PF was significantly correlated with AER (r = .33; P = .003). Such correlation
also remained significant (P = .0002) after covariance analysis by a stepwise discriminant procedure taking into account age,
duration of disease, sex, blood pressure, body weight, therapy, and HbA1. In conclusion, PF increase is associated with microalbuminuria
independent of the other considered variables; its role as a possible marker for early diabetic nephropathy remains to be
fully clarified.