Serum mannose-binding lectin is a strong biomarker of diabetic retinopathy in chinese patients with diabetes.

Objective: Inflammation and complement activation initiated by mannose-binding lectin (MBL) may be implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic vascular complications. We investigated serum MBL levels in patients with diabetes with and without diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods: Serum MBL levels were determined in 348 patients with diabetes and in 100 healthy control subjects. The prediction value of MBL was compared with diabetes duration, hs-CRP, and other known predictors. Multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression models.

Results: MBL levels on admission were significantly increased in patients with diabetes with DR (P < 0.0001) and vision-threatening DR (VTDR; P < 0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for common indictors showed that serum MBL levels ≥3,385 μg/L were an independent predictor of DR (odds ratio [OR] 3.14, 95% CI 1.77-5.57) and VTDR (OR 7.83, 95% CI 3.35-18.31). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of MBL was 0.81 (95% CI 0.76-0.86) for DR and 0.84 (95% CI 0.74-0.93) for VTDR.

Conclusions: The current study demonstrated that MBL appears to be an independent biomarker for DR in the Chinese population, suggesting a possible role of MBL in the pathogenesis of DR complications in diabetes.