Investigation of NLRP3, Asprosin, And Meteorin-Like Levels in Patients Diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus

Assessment of NLRP3, Asprosin and Metrnl in DM.

Abstract

Background: This prospective case-control study investigated whether circulating NLRP3, asprosin, and meteorin-like (Metrnl) levels differ between diabetic and non-diabetic adults and evaluated their association with diabetes status.

Materials and Methods: Eighty-eight adults were enrolled, including 44 patients with diabetes mellitus and 44 healthy controls. Plasma NLRP3, asprosin, and Metrnl levels were measured by ELISA. Group comparisons were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Correlations were examined by Spearman analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify variables independently associated with diabetes status. ROC curve analysis was performed for NLRP3 to assess its discriminative performance.

Results: The mean age of the diabetes group was 48.09 ± 12.65 (26-71) years and the average mean age of the control group was 32.15 ± 9.18 (17-58) years. All three biomarkers were significantly higher in the diabetes group than in controls (all p<0.001). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, age (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.08-1.35, p=0.001), asprosin (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.06-1.56, p=0.009), and NLRP3 (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.02-1.10, p=0.001) were independently associated with diabetes status, whereas Metrnl was not. ROC analysis for NLRP3 yielded an AUC of 0.821; the optimal cut-off value was 89.5 pg/mL, with 70.5% sensitivity and 79.5% specificity.

Conclusions: Serum NLRP3 and asprosin were independently associated with diabetes status, while Metrnl was elevated in diabetic individuals but did not remain independently associated after adjustment. These biomarkers, particularly NLRP3, may have potential clinical value in risk stratification and biomarker-based assessment of diabetes-related metabolic inflammation.