Evaluation of Colchicine Effect on Cytokine Production from Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Type I Diabetes

Problem: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) results from autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing β cells and is characterized by the presence of insulitis and β-cell autoantibodies. Cytokines are known to play an important role in autoimmunity and have been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the levels of major cytokines such as IL-2, IL-6, and IL-10 in Type I DM and in apparently healthy volunteers (control) and to study the effect of colchicine on the capacity of peripheral blood monocytes isolated from Type I diabetes patients and healthy volunteers with or without immune stimulation to produce IL-2, IL-6, and IL-10. Experimental approach: Fifty type I diabetes patients were randomly recruited from the Diabetes/Endocrine Clinics along with 15 healthy subjects. Levels of cytokines were measured from cultured blood monocytes using standard ELISA kits. Major findings: results revealed that basal levels of IL-2, IL-6, and IL-10 were significantly higher in diabetes group compared to healthy group (P 0.05). LPS or PHA-induced production of these cytokines was significantly higher in diabetes group (P 0.05). Moreover, pretreatment of stimulated monocytes of DM patients with colchicine inhibited cytokine levels to be comparable to that of cell cultured from healthy individuals. Conclusions: These results provide a new perspective on the protective role of colchicine against inflammatory longterm complications associated with type I DM