ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Clinical Diabetes
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1602777
Residual beta-cell function in children with type 1 diabetes after a partial remission phase -a possible relation between C-peptide and betatrophin
Provisionally accepted- Department of Pediatrics, Endocrinology, Diabetology with Cardiology Divisions, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Bialystok, Białystok, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland
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Introduction: Maintaining endogenous insulin secretion in type 1 diabetes (T1D) long after its onset, and thus the need for early diagnosis and searching for factors preserving the secretory function of β-cells, has become an important goal of current research. The aim of the study was to evaluate C-peptide secretion in T1D children with at least 1 year disease duration and to investigate the potential role of body mass index (BMI) and betatrophin on residual β-cell function. We also assessed factors that may affect betatrophin levels.Methods: 121 children and adolescents suffering from T1D were divided into groups based on: clinical significance of C-peptide; BMI-SDS <1 and ≥1; and disease duration to compare C-peptide and betatrophin levels and determine the importance of these changes.Results: Of the children recruited, 44 (36.36%) had clinically significant C-peptide (> 0.23 ng/ml), and compared with the group with clinically insignificant C-peptide they had later onset (P<.001), shorter duration of illness (P<.001), lower daily insulin requirement (P=.025), lower mean HbA1c over the past year (P=.002), higher betatrophin levels (P=.019), and BMI-SDS at diagnosis (P=.013). Betatrophin levels correlated positively with C-peptide (P=.043) while negatively with patient’s age (P<.001), BMI-SDS (P=.010), disease duration (P=.006), HbA1c level at sampling (P=.022), average HbA1c level over the past year (P=.006), and basal insulin (P=.001).Conclusion: The positive significant relationship between betatrophin and C-peptide concentrations may indicate betatrophin as a potential biomarker of long-lasting residual β-cell function. Negative correlation with BMI identifies the ongoing need to maintain an appropriate body mass.
Keywords: T1D (Type 1 Diabetes), Children, C-Peptide, Obesity, Betatrophin, Islet beta (β) cells
Received: 31 Mar 2025; Accepted: 28 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Odyjewska, Kupińska, Jamiołkowska-Sztabkowska, Bossowski and Glowinska-Olszewska. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Barbara Glowinska-Olszewska, Department of Pediatrics, Endocrinology, Diabetology with Cardiology Divisions, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Bialystok, Białystok, 15-274, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland
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