Betatrophin, asprosin and preptin levels in plasma and urine as an early indicator of diabetic nephropathy in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Type 1 Diabetes mellitus (DM); a metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from insulin deficiency. Today, urinary microalbumin level is used for the diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy. In this study, we aimed to investigate the usability of these parameters in the early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy by measuring Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin (NGAL), Betatrofin, Asprosin and Preptin levels in patients with a diagnosis of Type 1 DM of 5 years or more. In this study, 50 pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (HbA1c > 6,5%, fasting blood glucose ≥ 126 mg / dl, postprandial blood glucose ≥ 200 mg / dl) who were admitted and followed up at the Pediatric Endocrine Outpatient Clinic of Fırat University Hospital between the ages of 5 and 18 years were evaluated. 30 healthy children without diabetes who applied to the General Pediatric Outpatient Clinic of Fırat University Hospital for routine follow-up were selected as the control group. Biochemical parameters of these groups were obtained from hospital records. In addition, 5 ml blood and 10 ml urine samples were taken simultaneously. NGAL, Betatrophin, Asprosin and Preptin levels were studied in biological samples. Consistent with the literature, NGAL and betatrophin levels in urine and serum were significantly higher in children with Type 1 DM than in the control group. While the preptin level was significantly higher in the urine of the diabetic group, the elevation in serum was not significant. Asprosin, on the other hand, was lower in the serum of children with Type 1 DM compared to the control group, while there was no significant difference in urine asprosin levels between the two groups. According to the results, increasing NGAL and betatrophin are important markers in the diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy, and since these parameters show a parallel with urine, so we think that urine is going to be an important biological fluid in the diagnosis and follow-up of diabetic nephropathy for patient comfort (not invasive).