Elevated levels of serum adenosine deaminase in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder characterized by an absolute or relative deficiency of insulin and insulin resistance or both. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is an enzyme, that catalyses the irreversible hydrolytic deamination of adenosine to uric acid. Since ADA activity is associated with T-lymphocyte activity and insulin resistance, in the present study, we measured serum ADA activity in type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients to evaluate the relationship between serum ADA activities with glycemic status. Methods: A total of 100 T2DM patients and controls were recruited for the study. Estimation of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial plasma glucose (PPG), HbA1c and fasting lipid profile was done. Serum ADA level was estimated by Colorimetric method. Statistical analysis of data was performed using the SPSS version 15. Results: ADA level was significantly higher (p<0.001) in patients with T2DM (45.5+4.6 U/L) than controls. A significant positive correlation was observed between serum ADA and HbA1c (r=0.585), FPG (r=0.495), PPG (0.387) and serum triglycerides (r=0.375) among subjects with T2DM but not among non-diabetic controls. Conclusions: In the present study, serum ADA activity in T2DM patients has been increased. High ADA activity reduces the glucose uptake into cells; therefore, insulin resistance is related to ADA activity.