According to a novel study published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care, several analyzed biomarkers combined failed to differentiate the rate of progression among children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, despite the differences in individual proteins. Only one marker stood out, coxsackievirus B-adenovirus receptor (CAR) which exhibited significant alteration across time and group effects, showing a substantial increase in the rapid progression cohort. Nonetheless, certain markers may be useful in predicting the decline of the C-peptide, which could be valuable for deciphering the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes.

Per Lundkvist et al. explored the biomarkers predictive of either a fast or slow progression of new-onset type 1 diabetes in pediatric patients (aged less than 18 years) in their recent retrospective cohort study.

Overall, 46 T1D children were included at diagnosis and followed until complete insulinopenia (C-peptide less than 0.03 nmol per L). They were divided into three groups:

• Rapid progression group comprising 20 children, loss within 30 months
• Slow progression group comprising 26 children
• Healthy/control group comprising 45 healthy children of the same gender and age range

The proximity extension assay (PEA) was used to evaluate the numerous biomarkers at the starting and follow-up periods. The variations in multiple biomarkers in the rapid, slow and healthy groups at the baseline are mentioned in the following table 1:

A change in 25 proteins over time was also observed regardless of group. Notably, the coxsackievirus B-adenovirus receptor (CAR) demonstrated a progressive increase over time among the rapid progressors group. A total of 81 proteins exhibited differences between T1D children and the control group. However, the principal component analysis plot failed to differentiate between the three groups, as concluded.