A. I. Albadr¹*, I. I. Albadr², A. Q. Abdulsada³

¹Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine,
University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq;
²Al-Aqsa Intifada Center, Basrah, Iraq;
³Basrah Health Directorate, Basrah, Iraq
*e-mail: abrar.emad@uobasrah.edu.iq

Received: 22 April 2025; Revised: 15 May 2025;
Accepted: 11 June 2025; Available on-line: 07 July 2025

Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is considered the most common complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). There is an unmet need for potential biomarkers that can be used to diagnose diabetic neuropathy and to halt its progression. Chronic low-grade inflammation plays a key role in the development of DN. It was shown that secretory lectin-binding pancreatic stone protein/ regenerating protein (PSP/reg) is raised in the blood during inflammatory and infectious conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the serum level of PSP/reg and DN in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. A total of 250 participants with T2DM aged 40-70 years were divided into two groups: patients without DN and DN patients. The presence of T2DM and DN was confirmed clinically. The serum PSP/reg protein level was determined using ELISA. It was shown that serum PSP/reg level was significantly higher in DN patients compared with diabetic patients without DN and was positively correlated with glycated hemoglobin and blood glucose level. ROC analysis revealed that the optimal cut-off point of PSP/reg was 10.15 ng/ml to indicate DN with a sensitivity of 92%. These results indicate the potential role of serum PSP/reg level as a supplementary diabetic neuropathy marker which may be useful in identifying T2DM patients who are at a high risk of nerve damage.