Immunological markers in type 1 diabetes mellitus in Thi-Qar province, southern Iraq

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune illness defined as insulin insufficiency resulting from the autoimmune breakdown of pancreatic beta cells producing insulin in the islets of Langerhans. Biomarkers are markers of physiological or pathological processes that are normal or abnormal, playing a crucial function in clinical evaluation, prognosis, and therapy response monitoring. This study aimed to investigate some biomarkers associated with T1D and examine the association between glutamic acid carboxylase (GADA) antibody and islet antigen-2 autoantibody (IA-2A) for β-cell stress and death in patients with T1D. The current study included 60 patients with T1D, 32 (53.33%) males and 28 (46.67%) females between 9 to 18 years old, and 30 healthy individuals as control. Glutamic acid carboxylase, islet antigen-2 autoantibody and connecting peptide levels in the blood were evaluated. Positive results for IA-2A and GADA were shown in 89.04% and 38% of T1D patients, respectively. The normal level frequency and C-peptide titer mean were significantly lower between T1D and healthy control. However, no statistically significant changes were observed in the C-peptide level among GADA positive and negative patients. Finally, the C-peptide concentrations were significantly lower for positive IA-2A compared to negative IA-2A persons. The combination of IA-2A, GADA, and C-peptide could indicate stronger diagnostic measures at a low cost for patients with T1D.