The increased monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells in type 2 diabetes corelate with hyperglycemic and was a risk factor of infection and tumor

Abstract

Background To explore the M-MDSCs frequency in T2DM patients and whether it is corelated to the glycaemia, infection and tumor development. Methods We recruited healthy volunteers and T2DM patients for this study. M-MDSCs frequency in the peripheral blood, FPG, HbA1c levels, and other relevant indicators were detected. T2DM patients were further divided into good glycaemic control (GGC) and poor control (PGC) groups, and each patient was followed up for at least 6 months after the M-MDSCs were tested. We then analysed and compared the M-MDSCs frequency in the healthy population to various subgroups of T2DM patients, as well as the associations between M-MDSCs, glycaemia, infection, and tumor development. Results The M-MDSCs frequency was significantly higher in T2DM patients with PGC than in the healthy population (2.54% vs 0.93%), but there was no significant difference between patients with GGC and the healthy group (P > 0.05). The M-MDSCs frequency was positively correlated with FPG and HbA1c levels (R = 0.517 and 0.315, respectively). In addition, the patients who had tumors had the highest M-MDSCs number (12.89%), vastly more than those in the patients who only had an infection (3.14%) and the patients who had neither infection nor tumor (1.95%). When M-MDSCs frequency was higher than 2.8% or 11.24%, the risk ratios for infection or tumor occurrence were 2.5-fold and 43.2-fold higher in T2DM patients, respectively. Conclusions Elevated M-MDSC levels are associated with hyperglycaemia and may be a useful indicator for predicting the risk of infection or tumor development in T2DM patients.