Clinical Investigation of Serum Protein Electrophoresis in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and relative insulin deficiency. Circulating proteins in the pathogenesis of T2DM have been implicated with different degrees of glucose intolerance. Objective: This study assessed the serum protein pattern in T2DM patients. Method and Material: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on 120 participants comprising 60 T2DM patients and 60 non-diabetic individuals in General Hospital Ilorin, Kwara State, after the ethical approvals were obtained from both the Kwara State Ministry of Health and General Hospital Ilorin with the reference numbers ERC/MOH/2022/04/089 and GHI/IRC/246/VOL1/03, respectively. About 5 ml of venous blood sample was collected from each participant after an overnight fast of 10–12 hours for glycated hemoglobin and serum protein estimation. The glycated hemoglobin was estimated using the fluorescence immunoassay technique, while protein and albumin were estimated spectrophotometrically using biuret and bromocresol green dye-binding methods, respectively. The serum protein pattern was determined by serum protein electrophoresis. Results: A total of 60 T2DM patients were included in the study; 8 (13.3%) showed hypergammaglobulinemia, 7 (11.7%) demonstrated hyperbetaglobulinemia, and 13 (21.7%) revealed hyperalpha-2-globulinemia serum protein patterns compared to normal serum protein patterns observed in the non-diabetic individuals. Also, a significant increase (p<0.05) in glycated hemoglobin was observed in T2DM patients compared to non-diabetic individuals. However, no significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed in serum protein, albumin, globulin, and A/G ratio of T2DM patients compared to non-diabetic individuals. Conclusions: This study observed that diabetes mellitus significantly affects positive acute phase proteins, such as beta, alpha-2, and gamma globulin, compared to negative acute phase proteins, such as albumin, globulin, and the albumin/globulin ratio.