Low brain-derived neurotrophic factor and high vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 levels are associated with chronic kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

<jats:sec><jats:title>Background</jats:title><jats:p>Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) have a high prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Energy imbalance and inflammation may be involved in the pathogenesis of CKD. We examined the effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) on CKD in patients with type 2 DM.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>Patients with type 2 DM were enrolled for this cross-sectional study. Fasting serum was prepared to measure the BDNF and VCAM-1 levels. An estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) &lt;60 mL/min/1.73 m<jats:sup>2</jats:sup> was used as the criterion for identifying patients with CKD.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>Of the 548 enrolled participants, 156 had CKD. Patients with CKD exhibited significantly lower BDNF (median of 21.4 ng/mL, interquartile range [IQR]: 17.0–27.0 ng/mL vs. median of 25.9 ng/mL, IQR: 21.0–30.4 ng/mL, <jats:italic>P &lt;</jats:italic>0.001) and higher VCAM-1 (median of 917 ng/mL, IQR: 761–1172 ng/mL vs. median of 669 ng/mL, IQR: 552–857 ng/mL, <jats:italic>P &lt;</jats:italic>0.001) levels than those without CKD. Serum BDNF levels were inversely correlated with VCAM-1 levels (Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient = -0.210, <jats:italic>P &lt;</jats:italic>0.001). The patients were divided into four subgroups based on median BDNF and VCAM-1 levels (24.88 ng/mL and 750 ng/mL, respectively). Notably, patients in the high VCAM-1 and low BDNF group had the highest prevalence (50%) of CKD. Multivariate logistic regression revealed a significantly higher odds ratio (OR) of CKD in the high VCAM-1 and low BDNF group (OR = 3.885, 95% CI: 1.766–8.547, <jats:italic>P &lt;</jats:italic>0.001), followed by that in the high VCAM-1 and high BDNF group (OR = 3.099, 95% CI: 1.373–6.992, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> =0.006) compared with that in the low VCAM-1 and high BDNF group. However, the risk of CKD in the low VCAM-1 and low BDNF group was not significantly different from that in the low VCAM-1 and high BDNF group (<jats:italic>P</jats:italic> =0.266).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title><jats:p>CKD in patients with type 2 DM is associated with low serum BDNF and high VCAM-1 levels. BDNF and VCAM-1 have a synergistic effect on CKD. Thus, BDNF and VCAM-1 can be potential biomarkers for CKD risk stratification in patients with type 2 DM.</jats:p></jats:sec>