CCL20 is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus regardless of age, physical activity, waist circumference and smoking in postmenopausal women

Abstract

CCL20 is a chemokine primarily expressed in lymphatic tissue and the liver, produced by endothelial cells, neutrophils, natural killer (NK) cells, Th17 cells, B cells, among others. CCL20, known for its role in recruiting inflammatory cells, emerges as a possible mediator of inflammation in T2DM. The objective was to evaluate serum CCL20 as a potential biomarker for T2DM in postmenopausal women. Participated in this cross-sectional study 160 postmenopausal women, aged over 45 years, with no personal history of cardiovascular disease, alcohol or drug use. The diabetic group consisted of 28 women. Serum CCL20 concentration was quantified using the ELISA technique, and confounding variables included age, physical activity, smoking, abdominal circumference, body fat percentage, PTH, insulin and glucose. The mean age was 70 years, menopause time of 23 ±8 years, waist circumference of 99 ±15 cm, body fat percentage of 43 ±5.7%, physical activity practiced by 17.9% and smoking in 2.1%. PTH = 58.7 ±23.8 pg/mL, insulin = 16.2 ±10.7 µU/mL, glucose = 105.4 ±8.0 mg/dL and CCL20 = 37.7 ±14.9 pg/mL. The logistic regression model showed that there was a significant association between high levels of CCL20 and T2DM (OR = 1.017, 95%CI = 1.001-1.033, P = 0.040), regardless of age, physical activity, abdominal circumference and smoking. For each one-unit rise in CCL20 concentration, the risk of diabetes increases by 1.7% (95%CI: 1-3.3%). CCL20 may be a promising biomarker to identify postmenopausal women with increased risk of developing T2DM.