Evaluation of colchicine effect on cytokine production from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of type I diabetes

Abstract EN

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) results from autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing β cells and is characterized by the presence of insulitis and β-cell autoantibodies.

Cytokines are known to play an important role in autoimmunity and have been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM).

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the levels of major cytokines such as IL-2, IL-6, and IL-10 in Type I DM and in apparently healthy volunteers (control) and to study the effect of colchicine on the capacity of peripheral blood monocytes isolated from Type I diabetes patients and healthy volunteers with or without immune stimulation to produce IL-2, IL-6, and IL-10.

Experimental approach: Fifty type I diabetes patients were randomly recruited from the Diabetes/Endocrine Clinics along with 15 healthy subjects.

Levels of cytokines were measured from cultured blood monocytes using standard ELISA kits.

Major findings: results revealed that basal levels of IL-2, IL-6, and IL-10 were significantly higher in diabetes group compared to healthy group (P < 0.05).

LPS or PHA-induced production of these cytokines was significantly higher in diabetes group (P < 0.05).

Moreover, pretreatment of stimulated monocytes of DM patients with colchicine inhibited cytokine levels to be comparable to that of cell cultured from healthy individuals.

Conclusions: These results provide a new perspective on the protective role of colchicine against inflammatory longterm complications associated with type I DM.