Evaluation of Il-17 in Patients with Type II Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Considering the probable engagement of Interleukin-17 in the development of DM, its possible eligibility as a diagnostic marker should be evaluated. Objectives: The aim of this study is to find out the role of IL-17 in the pathogenesis and diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Methods: This case-control study was carried out at Al-Husseini Teaching Hospital, Karbala, Iraq, during the period from March to September 2024. The study included 50 diagnosed DM patients and 50 healthy controls. IL-17 levels were measured by ELISA using HuamaCount (Germany) kits. Results: Patients with DM were 48.67 ± 6.44 years old on average. The distribution of their ages was 24% from 35 to 44 years, 26% from 45 to 54 years, 18% from 55 to 64 years, and 32% from 65 to 74 years. For this male-to-female ratio, the DM group was 54:46 as compared to controls, which were 48:52. IL-17 levels were significantly higher in patients with DM (7.33 ± 1.54 pg/ml) than in the controls (5.48 ± 2.44 pg/ml) (P <0.0001). It gave an AUC of 0.63, sensitivity and specificity being 74% and 66% at a cutoff value of 6.33 pg/ml (P = 0.046), thus indicative of IL-17 as a fairly good diagnostic marker for DM. Conclusions: Elevated IL-17 levels may be involved in the pathogenesis of DM, of potential diagnostic and predictive utility as a biomarker though its modest discriminative ability calls for more research to buttress its usefulness in clinical practice.