Assessing miR-146a-5P with IL-6 and TLR-4 serum levels in diabetic mellitus patients with or without urinary tract infection

Introduction and Aim: Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease that affects glucose levels. This condition increases blood sugar and weakens immunity, damaging neutrophil function and urine antibacterial activity. IL-6 and TLR-4 are involved in inflammation and immune system control, while miR-146-5p may be a biomarker for diabetes. This study examines IL-6, TLR-4, and miR-146-5p in diabetics with and without UT infection. Materials and Methods: In this study, blood samples were collected from 100 diabetic mellitus patients suffering from UTI in addition to 100 individuals apparently healthy as control. The serum levels of IL-6 and TLR-4 were detected using commercial BTlab brand ELISA kits. The plasma RNA expression level of the miR-146a-5p was determined by real time-PCR using a specific primer for miR-146a-5p with the U6 gene utilized as a reference gene. Results: The results showed that diabetic patient’s group had a significantly higher response of IL-6 than controls (75.6 vs. 27.6). TLR-4 levels showed high levels in diabetic patients’ group (1.3) in comparison with the control group (0.441). Both IL-6 and TLR-4 levels showed a significant difference between the diabetic patients with UTI compared to control. The results revealed no-significant differences in the levels among both diabetic patients with UTI and patients without UTI. TLR-4 and IL-6 showed a significant inverse relationship while the relation between TLR-4 level and miR-146a-5p expression level showed a negative relationship. Conclusion: The levels of IL-6, TLR-4, and miR-146-5p expression were found to be considerably greater in individuals with diabetes having UTIs compared to patients with diabetes alone. An inverse relationship existed between IL-6 and TLR-4 levels as well as between TLR-4 and miR-146a-5p. The expression levels of IL-6 and miR-146-5p were nearly equal.