Plasma lipopolysaccharide binding protein level statistically mediates between body mass index and chronic microinflammation in Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes

Recently, it is widely recognized that microinflammation plays important roles in the pathophysiology of metabolic diseases, especially obesity-related disorders, diabetes and their complications. Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) is a liver-derived acute-phase protein responsive to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) produced by gram-negative bacteria, thus reflects the systemic inflammation caused by the infection of those bacteria including gut dysbiosis. In this study, we evaluated the plasma LBP levels and investigated its clinical significance in 67 Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes. Univariable analysis showed that LBP levels were significantly associated with body mass index (BMI; r = 0.43, p < 0.01) and serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP; r = 0.64, p < 0.001) levels. However, there was no significant association between plasma LBP levels and diabetic complications. Mediation analysis revealed that LBP had significant mediation effects on the association between hs-CRP and BMI (0.27 [95% confidence interval 0.10–0.48]). These results suggest that the systemic condition where the LBP level increases, such as gut dysbiosis, at least partly, impacts on chronic microinflammation in patients with type 1 diabetes.