The Association of Monocyte Subtypes Frequency and Serum TNF-α and TGF-β Levels with Diabetic Wound Grade

  • Vahid Asghariazar Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
  • Roya dolatkhah Students Research Committee, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
  • Sepideh Moharami Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
  • Sohrab Iranpour Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
  • Amirhossein Adli Students Research Committee, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
  • Majid Eterafi Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
  • Elham Safarzadeh Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Research Center, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
Keywords: Diabetes mellitus; Inflammation; Monocytes; Type 2; Wound healing

Abstract

The exact mechanisms underlying impaired wound healing in diabetes are not fully understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of classical and non-classical monocyte ratios along with TNF-α and TGF-β plasma levels on diabetic wound healing.

Twenty-four patients with confirmed type 2 diabetes and twenty healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) isolation was performed  by Ficoll-Paque density gradient centrifugation method. The frequency of different subsets of monocytes was characterized in diabetic patients and  healthy controls using flow cytometry. TNF-α and TGF-β plasma levels were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.

We found a significant difference in the frequency of classical and non-classical monocytes in healthy controls and diabetic patients. The plasma level of TNF-α was higher in diabetic patients than in healthy controls, and its level was associated with wound grade. Moreover, the plasma level of TGF-β was lower in diabetic patients rather than healthy controls. Also, our data showed a higher percentage of non-classical monocytes as wound grade increased.

In conclusion, the wound healing process is affected by diabetes via changes in non-classical and classical monocyte percentages, which may be the result of TNF-α increase and TGF-β levels decreasing in diabetic patients’ plasma.

Published
2025-03-12
Section
Articles