High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is an alarmin that may link to obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The present study analyzed the correlation between HMGB1/ Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and certain biochemical parameters in obese (OB) diabetic patients. 40 normal glucose tolerant subjects (NGT) and 40 patients with newly diagnosed T2DM were enrolled. All patients were further divided into non-obese NGT (NGT-NOB), obese NGT (NGT-OB), non-obese T2DM (T2DM-NOB) and obese T2DM (T2DM-OB) groups according to body mass index (BMI).The levels of HMGB1 in serum were quantified using ELISA, whereas the mRNA expression levels of TLR4 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were assessed using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. The results suggested that the levels of HMGB1 and TLR4 were higher in NGT-OB and T2DM-NOB groups compared with those in NGT-NOB group. Similarly, the levels of these two markers were higher in T2DM-OB group compared with those in NGT-OB group. Correlation analysis indicated that the levels of HMGB1 and TLR4 were positively correlated with triglyceride (TG), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels and BMI, whereas a negative correlation between HMGB1 and high density lipoprotein (HDL) was noted. Linear regression analysis suggested that HMGB1 was associated with FPG and TG levels, whereas TLR4 was strongly associated with TG levels and BMI. The results demonstrated that the expression levels of HMGB1 and TLR4 in patients with T2DM or obesity were increased, which were associated with glycolipid metabolism disorders. Therefore, the HMGB1/TLR4 may serve a role in inflammatory process associated with obesity and T2DM.

高流动性组框 1 (HMGB1) 是一种可能与肥胖和 2 型糖尿病 (T2DM) 相关的警报素。本研究分析了 HMGB1/Toll 样受体 4 (TLR4) 与肥胖 (OB) 糖尿病患者的某些生化参数之间的相关性。招募了 40 名正常葡萄糖耐受受试者 (NGT) 和 40 名新诊断的 T2DM 患者。根据体重指数（BMI）将所有患者进一步分为非肥胖NGT（NGT-NOB）、肥胖NGT（NGT-OB）、非肥胖T2DM（T2DM-NOB）和肥胖T2DM（T2DM-OB）组. 血清中 HMGB1 的水平使用 ELISA 进行定量，而外周血单个核细胞中 TLR4 的 mRNA 表达水平使用逆转录定量 PCR 进行评估。结果表明，与NGT-NOB组相比，NGT-OB和T2DM-NOB组的HMGB1和TLR4水平更高。同样，与NGT-OB组相比，T2DM-OB组这两种标志物的水平更高。相关分析表明，HMGB1和TLR4水平与甘油三酯（TG）、空腹血糖（FPG）水平和BMI呈正相关，而HMGB1与高密度脂蛋白（HDL）呈负相关。线性回归分析表明 HMGB1 与 FPG 和 TG 水平相关，而 TLR4 与 TG 水平和 BMI 密切相关。结果表明，2型糖尿病或肥胖患者中HMGB1和TLR4的表达水平升高，与糖脂代谢紊乱有关。所以，