ESPE Abstracts

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is considered as the most common autoimmune chronic metabolic disease in childhood with constantly rising incidence in last decades. Many studies have confirmed the role of natural killer cells (NK) in the autoimmune destruction of the pancreatic beta cells The aim of the study was to evaluate the serum levels of NK cells in Bulgarian children with T1D from Pleven region and to assess their correlation with the metabolic control and diabetes duration

Material: In this study we researched 101 children – 71 pediatric patients with T1D at 6 – 18 years of age and 30 age- and sex-matched non-diabetic healthy controls. All participants were included in the study after informed consent forms from legal guardians were signed.

Methods: A flow-cytometry immunophenotyping of NK cells (CD 65+) defining cells’ percentage and absolute count was performed. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) for assessment of metabolic control of T1D was determined. Statistical analysis with Statgraph and SPSS software was performed and as statistical significant a p-value < 0.05 was considered.

Results: A significantly lower percentage of NK cells in children with diabetes 12.61% (P25 – 8.78; P75 – 16.94) compared to healthy controls 15.49% (P25 – 13.23, P75 – 18.15) (P = 0.017) was found. The absolute count of NK cells in diabetic children showed the same trend of decrease, which was non-significant. Patients with T1D in our study group showed a poor long term metabolic control with mean level of HbA1c 10,09±2,28%, but no significant correlation between the NK cell levels and metabolic control was found. The median duration of diabetes in our cohort was 3 years (P25 – 1, P75 - 5), while 12 patients was newly diagnosed T1D. No correlation between NK cell levels and diabetes duration was found, thought there was a trend of higher NK cells at the onset of diabetes - 13.51% (P25 - 10,21; P75 - 18.04) and absolute count 466.6 (P25 - 296.5; P75 - 230.3) (p > 0.05)

Conclusion: The levels of NK cells in the researched cohort of Bulgarian children with T1D was found to be lower than in controls with no significant correlation with metabolic control and diabetes duration.