Arginase1 showed a strong association with oxidative stress and early T2DM in this study published in the Baghdad Science Journal. The analysis included 120 adults aged 30–65 years: 40 obese controls, 40 individuals with T2DM, and 40 patients with diabetic retinopathy. All participants underwent testing for fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, lipid profile, serum arginase1, MDA,GST, body mass index, and waist-to-hip ratio.

Serum arginase1 levels were significantly higher in T2DM (113.75 ± 4.12 ng/mL) than in diabetic retinopathy (85.03 ± 4.90 ng/mL) and control groups (41.80 ± 1.66 ng/mL; p ≤ 0.05). MDA concentrations were greatest in diabetic retinopathy (627.23 ± 22.71 ng/mL) compared with T2DM (581.67 ± 16.53 ng/mL) and controls (366.71 ± 13.24 ng/mL). GST activity was also highest in diabetic retinopathy (16.95 ± 2.69 IU/L), followed by controls (7.67 ± 0.94 IU/L) and T2DM (6.47 ± 0.75 IU/L).

The findings indicate a direct relationship between arginase1 and oxidative stress. Arginase1 demonstrated good diagnostic performance for early T2DM but did not differentiate diabetic retinopathy, highlighting its relevance as an early metabolic marker rather than an indicator of advanced microvascular disease.