Meta-Inflammation in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Theoretical, Methodological, and Clinical Aspects
- 1Institute of Immunology and Physiology, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 620078 Ekaterinburg, Russia
Abstract
Currently, there is no doubt that insulin resistance (IR) in prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with chronic systemic metabolic inflammation (SMI). SMI is typically considered a form of low-grade systemic inflammation (LGSI). At the same time, one cannot rule out the possibility of the transformation of LGSI into more pronounced forms of chronic systemic inflammation (ChSI), typical of systemic autoimmune diseases and characterized by a high severity of systemic inflammatory response (SIR). The aim of this research is to assess the pathogenetic role of SMI as a general pathological process in the pathogenesis of prediabetes and T2DM, as well as differentiating SMI into LGSI and ChSI. The study included two main groups—T2DM (n = 65) and prediabetes (n = 24)—as well as three control groups of healthy individuals of different ages (n = 50, n = 89, and n = 22). In the patients of the main groups, metabolic syndrome (MetS) was diagnosed in accordance with the American Heart Association criteria, and metabolic indices (HOMA-IR, HOMA-islet, and TyG) were calculated. The levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and cytokines (TNFα, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10) were determined in blood plasma as SIR parameters, and the levels of cortisol (690 nmol/L or <100 nmol/L), D-dimer (>250 and >500 ng/mL), and troponin I (>0.2 ng/mL) were used as additional SMI criteria. Based on molecular inflammatory markers, the ChSI and LGSI scales were calculated using the authors’ original method. SMI in T2DM and prediabetes manifested itself as both LGSI (in 57% of cases in T2DM and 46% in prediabetes) and ChSI (in 18.5% of cases in T2DM and 8.3% in prediabetes). The verification of SMI based on the frequently used criterion of CRP levels above 3 mg/L turned out to be ineffective in our study (this criterion was detected in the control groups in 24–45%). Therefore, we used CRP > 10 mg/L in combination with cytokines as the SIR criterion. Additionally, we identified the SMI criteria: D-dimer > 250 ng/mL in 27.7% of T2DM and 0% in the control groups and prediabetes; cortisol 15.4% in T2DM and 8.3% in prediabetes; and troponin I 7.7% in T2DM and 4.2% in prediabetes. SMI (LGSI and ChSI) develops in the majority of patients with prediabetes (54.1%) and T2DM (75.4%). To assess SMI, it is advisable to use the integral SIR criteria in combination with the markers of chronic stress, tissue damage, and coagulopathy.
Related
- Cumulative exposure to the remnant cholesterol inflammation index and incident diabetes mellitus in middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults : A nationwide cohort study from CHARLS
- Targeting Gut Microbiota, Inflammation, and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Therapeutic Strategies and the Emerging Role of Time-Restricted Feeding
- Effects of DPP4 Inhibition on Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Experimental Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
- A machine learning-based predictive model for gestational diabetes mellitus based on first trimester clinical indicators
- Short-term clinical efficacy and recorded adverse events of semaglutide combined with dapagliflozin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease
BibTeX
@article{zhuravleva2026metainflammation,
title = {{Meta-Inflammation in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Theoretical, Methodological, and Clinical Aspects}},
author = {Yulia Zhuravleva and Evgenii Gusev},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27198891},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/19/8891},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Meta-Inflammation in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Theoretical, Methodological, and Clinical Aspects
AU - Yulia Zhuravleva
AU - Evgenii Gusev
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27198891
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/19/8891
AB - Currently, there is no doubt that insulin resistance (IR) in prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with chronic systemic metabolic inflammation (SMI). SMI is typically considered a form of low-grade systemic inflammation (LGSI). At the same time, one cannot rule out the possibility of the transformation of LGSI into more pronounced forms of chronic systemic inflammation (ChSI), typical of systemic autoimmune diseases and characterized by a high severity of systemic inflammatory response (SIR). The aim of this research is to assess the pathogenetic role of SMI as a general pathological process in the pathogenesis of prediabetes and T2DM, as well as differentiating SMI into LGSI and ChSI. The study included two main groups—T2DM (n = 65) and prediabetes (n = 24)—as well as three control groups of healthy individuals of different ages (n = 50, n = 89, and n = 22). In the patients of the main groups, metabolic syndrome (MetS) was diagnosed in accordance with the American Heart Association criteria, and metabolic indices (HOMA-IR, HOMA-islet, and TyG) were calculated. The levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and cytokines (TNFα, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10) were determined in blood plasma as SIR parameters, and the levels of cortisol (690 nmol/L or <100 nmol/L), D-dimer (>250 and >500 ng/mL), and troponin I (>0.2 ng/mL) were used as additional SMI criteria. Based on molecular inflammatory markers, the ChSI and LGSI scales were calculated using the authors’ original method. SMI in T2DM and prediabetes manifested itself as both LGSI (in 57% of cases in T2DM and 46% in prediabetes) and ChSI (in 18.5% of cases in T2DM and 8.3% in prediabetes). The verification of SMI based on the frequently used criterion of CRP levels above 3 mg/L turned out to be ineffective in our study (this criterion was detected in the control groups in 24–45%). Therefore, we used CRP > 10 mg/L in combination with cytokines as the SIR criterion. Additionally, we identified the SMI criteria: D-dimer > 250 ng/mL in 27.7% of T2DM and 0% in the control groups and prediabetes; cortisol 15.4% in T2DM and 8.3% in prediabetes; and troponin I 7.7% in T2DM and 4.2% in prediabetes. SMI (LGSI and ChSI) develops in the majority of patients with prediabetes (54.1%) and T2DM (75.4%). To assess SMI, it is advisable to use the integral SIR criteria in combination with the markers of chronic stress, tissue damage, and coagulopathy.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -