Abstract
It is widely known that diabetes mellitus negatively impacts both the innate immunity (the inflammatory response) and the acquired immunity (the humoral and cellular immune responses). Many patients with diabetes go on to develop chronic kidney disease, which will necessitate hemodialysis. In turn, long-term chronic hemodialysis generates an additional chronic inflammatory response and impairs acquired immunity. The purpose of this paper is to outline and compare the mechanisms that are the basis of the constant aggression towards self-components that affects patients with diabetes on hemodialysis, in order to find possible new therapeutic ways to improve the functionality of the immune system. Our study will take a detailed look at the mechanisms of endothelial alteration in diabetes and hemodialysis, at the mechanisms of inflammatory generation and signaling at different levels and also at the mechanisms of inflammation-induced insulin resistance. It will also discuss the alterations in leukocyte chemotaxis, antigen recognition and the dysfunctionalities in neutrophils and macrophages. Regarding acquired immunity, we will outline the behavioral alterations of T and B lymphocytes induced by diabetes mellitus and chronic hemodialysis.