Serum Sclerostin among Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes: Relation to Vascular Complications

Abstract

Abstract Background Sclerostin is a potent soluble inhibitor of the Wnt signalling pathway. Besides its inhibitory role on bone formation, Sclerostin plays an important role in the pathogenesis of vascular calcification in the context of chronic kidney disease. Aim To investigate the relationship between serum Sclerostin levels and urinary albumin excretion (UAE) among children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and assess their relation to the degree of UAE and carotid intimal thickness (CIMT). Methods A total of 50 patients with T1DM and 25 healthy controls were enrolled in the current study. Patients with T1DM were equally divided into a normoalbuminuric group and a microalbuminuric group (DN group) according to urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER). Serum Sclerostin level was measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay and carotid intimal thickness (CIMT) was assessed as a marker of subclinical atherosclerotic risk. Results The plasma Sclerostin levels were significantly higher in patients with microalbuminuria (90.83) ng/ml) compared with patients with normoalbuminuria (33.29 ng/ml) and healthy control subjects (13.5 ng/ml) (P < 0.001). Similarly, CIMT levels were significantly higher in patients with diabetic nephropathy (P < 0.001). The plasma Sclerostin level had a positive correlation with duration of disease, HbA1C, UAER and CIMT(P < 0.01). Conclusions Serum Sclerostin levels could serve as a potential biomarker of diabetic nephropathy among patients with T1DM. Further studies are needed to better understand the involvement of Sclerostin in vascular complications of T1DM and the possibility of a novel therapeutic target.