No abstract

To evaluate the clinical significance of thioredoxin in diabetic patients, serum thioredoxin levels measured with a recently established sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit were compared with clinical laboratory data and complications in 174 patients with Type 2 diabetes. Thioredoxin levels were significantly higher in diabetic patients (mean value, 38 ng/ml) than in healthy controls (21 ng/ml) (p < 0.05). Fasting blood sugar and hemoglobin A1c did not correlate with thioredoxin. Plasma non-esterified fatty acids levels were significantly higher in patients with higher thioredoxin levels (>or= 40 ng/ml) than in those with lower thioredoxin levels (< 40 ng/ml) (p < 0.001). There was a significant correlation both between thioredoxin and non-esterified fatty acids in patients with diet/exercise therapy (p < 0.01) and between thioredoxin and fasting immunoreactive insulin in those treated with diet/exercise or oral hypoglycemic agents (p < 0.05). Thioredoxin did not correlate with diabetic complications. In conclusion, serum thioredoxin levels may reflect the status of insulin resistance in Type 2 diabetic patients.

Oxidative stress, which was evaluated by measuring serum TRX, in addition to storage iron and hepatocyte damage is a cause of increasing serum ferritin levels in chronic liver diseases. An elevated serum ferritin level, which was correlated with TS, indicates that iron-induced oxidative stress contributes to CH-C. Elevated ferritin levels in FL and ALD may be mostly due to iron-unrelated stresses.

Insulin resistance was connected with impaired glucose tolerance and the severity of liver diseases in non-diabetic patients with HCV infection. Iron overload may be responsible for insulin resistance, or vice versa. Pancreatic beta-cell function was unrelated to the patients' serum ferritin levels.

Thioredoxin (TRX), a thiol-containing protein, is induced by various oxidative stresses. Serum TRX levels were measured with a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit in 210 hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients, 39 hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected patients, and 17 healthy volunteers. The effects of hepatoprotective drugs on TRX levels were also examined. The median TRX levels were significantly higher in HCV-infected patients than in controls (34.2 vs. 23.5 ng/ml, respectively; p < 0.005), but were not elevated in HBV-infected patients (26.7 ng/ml). The TRX levels were significantly correlated with serum lipid peroxide levels and indocyanine green exclusion test values, and were markedly decreased following treatment with Stronger Neo-Minophagen C or ursodeoxycholic acid. In conclusion serum TRX levels, a marker of oxidative stress, were higher in patients with HCV infection than those with HBV infection and healthy controls. The therapeutic efficacy of hepatoprotective drugs may be connected with the decrease in oxidative stress in hepatitis patients.