Evaluation of plasma VEGF and sVEGFR-1 levels in patients with diabetes mellitus receiving insulin treatment

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a multifactorial chronic disease, in which patients need to be treated with insulin in some conditions. Capillary growth is regulated by growth factors like vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and endogenous inhibitors such as the splice variant of VEGF receptor-1 (sVEGFR-1). We aimed to show the levels and the clinical significance of VEGF, sVEGFR-1 in patients with DM on insulin treatment. Materials and methods: A total of 83 subjects consisting of patients with the diagnosis of DM (n=47) and healthy control (n=36) were included the study. Plasma levels of VEGF and sVEGFR-1, were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Results: The average sVEGFR-1 levels of DM group was significantly higher than the control group (0.106 +/- 0.052 and 0.073 +/- 0.049, respectively; p = 0.005). Significantly lower sVEGFR-1 levels were determined in patients receiving metformin vs. without metformin using (0.065 +/- 0.016 and 0.118 +/- 0.053, respectively; p = 0.001). Conclusion: This is the first study evaluating and demonstrating the importance of plasma VEGF and sVEGFR-1 levels together in DM patients receiving insulin. Using metformin may have positive effect on angiogenesis in DM. Further studies are required to understand these effects.