Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2025 May 27:16:1605631.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1605631. eCollection 2025.

The potential biomarker value of soluble CD36 in the treatment of diabetic kidney disease: evidence from GLP-1 and insulin interventions

Wenxuan Li  1 , Yangang Wang  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

The potential biomarker value of soluble CD36 in the treatment of diabetic kidney disease: evidence from GLP-1 and insulin interventions

Wenxuan Li et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Background: Soluble CD36 (sCD36), the circulating form of the scavenger receptor CD36, plays a key role in lipid accumulation and inflammation during the progression of diabetic kidney disease (DKD), and has been proposed as a promising non-invasive biomarker. The renoprotective effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) may involve modulation of sCD36. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of GLP-1RA and insulin treatment on sCD36 levels and their association with renal function in DKD patients.

Methods: This single-center, prospective observational cohort study enrolled 191 patients with type 2 diabetes and early-stage DKD, who were stratified into three groups based on treatment regimen: control group (n = 63), insulin group (n = 71), and GLP-1RA group (n = 57). All patients received standard care with metformin, with the insulin and GLP-1RA groups receiving additional respective treatments for 12 weeks. Clinical parameters including sCD36, urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), lipid profile, glycemic markers, and islet function indices were assessed at baseline and post-treatment. Intra- and inter-group comparisons were performed using paired tests and analysis of covariance. Generalized linear regression models were applied to assess the relationship between sCD36 and renal function.

Results: Baseline sCD36 and UACR levels were comparable across the three groups (P > 0.05). After 12 weeks, sCD36 levels significantly declined in the GLP-1RA group (median: 195.20 ng/mL, IQR: 160.45-314.75), compared to the insulin group (364.60 ng/mL, IQR: 279.10-394.10) and control group (386.10 ng/mL, IQR: 323.60-471.30) (P < 0.001). The GLP-1RA group also showed the most marked reduction in UACR (P < 0.001). Regression analysis demonstrated a significant positive association between sCD36 and UACR levels both before and after treatment (P < 0.001), and the change in sCD36 (ΔsCD36) was positively correlated with the improvement in UACR, suggesting a link to reduced renal lipotoxicity and inflammation.

Conclusion: GLP-1RAs significantly reduce sCD36 and UACR levels in patients with early DKD, outperforming insulin in renoprotection. These findings raise the possibility that GLP-1RAs may exert renoprotective effects through modulation of CD36-related pathways, although direct mechanistic validation was not performed in this study.sCD36 may serve as a useful biomarker for monitoring DKD progression and therapeutic response, though further multicenter and long-term studies are needed to confirm its clinical utility.

Keywords: DKD; GLP-1RAs; biomarker; soluble CD36; urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of soluble CD36 levels before and after treatment among the three groups.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of differences in soluble CD36 levels.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Potential mechanism of GLP-1 in alleviating diabetic kidney disease (DKD).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Selby NM, Taal MW. An updated overview of diabetic nephropathy: Diagnosis, prognosis, treatment goals and latest guidelines. Diabetes Obes Metab. (2020) 22 Suppl 1:3–15. doi: 10.1111/dom.14007 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rayego-Mateos S, Morgado-Pascual JL, Opazo-Ríos L, Guerrero-Hue M, García-Caballero C, Vázquez-Carballo C, et al. Pathogenic pathways and therapeutic approaches targeting inflammation in diabetic nephropathy. Int J Mol Sci. (2020) 21:3798. doi: 10.3390/ijms21113798 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Han Y, Su Y, Han M, Liu Y, Shi Q, Li X, et al. Ginsenoside Rg1 attenuates glomerular fibrosis by inhibiting CD36/TRPC6/NFAT2 signaling in type 2 diabetes mellitus mice. J Ethnopharmacol. (2023) 302:115923. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2022.115923 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Xu M, Zhou H, Hu P, Pan Y, Wang S, Liu L, et al. Identification and validation of immune and oxidative stress-related diagnostic markers for diabetic nephropathy by WGCNA and machine learning. Front Immunol. (2023) 14:1084531. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1084531 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hou Y, Wang Q, Han B, Chen Y, Qiao X, Wang L. CD36 promotes NLRP3 inflammasome activation via the mtROS pathway in renal tubular epithelial cells of diabetic kidneys. Cell Death Dis. (2021) 12:523. doi: 10.1038/s41419-021-03813-6 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources