Pentraxin 3 (Ptx3) As A Novel Biomarker In Type 1 Diabetes With Diabetic Retinopathy

Abstract

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) remains a major microvascular complication of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), and inflammatory biomarkers such as pentraxin-3 (PTX3) have been proposed as potential indicators of retinal microvascular injury.

Objective: To investigates whether increased plasma PTX3 levels are associated with DR in patients with T1DM and assesses PTX3 as a candidate early biomarker for the detection of DR and for monitoring its progression.

Methods: This case–control analytical study was conducted over 18 months at Cairo University Pediatric Hospital and Kasr Al-Ainy Pediatric University Hospital (Cairo, Egypt). Thirty-six patients with confirmed T1DM were included and allocated into two equal groups based on ophthalmological assessment: DR (n=18) and no DR (n=18). Fundus assessment was performed by a specialized ophthalmologist, and plasma PTX3 was measured using a sandwich ELISA. 

Results: Patients with DR were older (23.72±9.9 vs 14.42±3.03 years; p=0.001) and had longer diabetes duration (13.33±6.62 vs 8.22±3.03 years; p=0.017). Mean PTX3 was higher in the DR group (7.27±3.47 vs 5.78±2.81 pg/mL), but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.282). Diagnostic performance of PTX3 for detecting DR was limited (AUC 0.605; 95% CI 0.414–0.795; p=0.282); at a cutoff of 8.62 pg/mL, sensitivity was 50% and specificity 83%.

Conclusion: In this cohort, plasma PTX3 alone showed limited ability to discriminate DR in T1DM and may be more useful as part of a combined risk-assessment panel rather than a standalone biomarker.