Cutaneous immunity and predisposition to infections in diabetic foot population

Abstract

It is unanimously accepted that patients with diabetes have a higher likelihood for infections. The metabolic imbalance associated with diabetes suppresses the immunity system of the cutaneous organ. Hyperglycemia causes an increase of the activity of the sorbitol route with consumption of NADPH. Furthermore, the sorbitol from the cells leads to increase of osmolality in cells as well as reduction of intracellular myo-inositol. These strains on the cellular metabolism expose the cells to oxidative stress. An additional factor is the reduced chemotaxis and phagocytosis impact on the bacterial activity of leukocytes which leads to further predisposition of infection for diabetes patients. Hence the poor control of glycemic levels leads to immunity changes which affects the local immune response against the aggression of pathogenic agents.

Keywords

• hyperglycemia
• immune response
• infections