Correlations of six related purine metabolites and diabetic nephropathy in Chinese type 2 diabetic patients

ObjectivesThe assessment of the clinical significance of adenosine, adenine, inosine, xanthine, hypoxanthine and uric acid concentrations in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic nephropathy (DN) for the detection of the relationship between purine metabolites and disease.Design and methodsThe study group consisted of 119 subjects which were divided into three groups: control (n = 31), type 2 diabetes without nephropathy (DM, n = 23) and with nephropathy (DN, n = 65). Levels of related metabolites were measured in plasma of all participants.ResultsThere is a significant increase of levels of adenosine (P < 0.001), inosine (P < 0.001), xanthine (P = 0.012) and uric acid (P = 0.016) with DN compared to DM. The level of xanthine oxidase (reflected by the uric acid: xanthine) did not change.ConclusionThe levels of adenosine, inosine, uric acid and xanthine may be useful for monitoring the progression of DM and evaluating the treatment.