TNF-alpha has been implicated in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance of obesity and type II diabetes (NIDDM). We investigated serum levels of sTNF-R1 in Type II diabetic patients with or without nephropathy, and compared those results with controls. We observed higher serum levels of TNF-R1 in type II diabetic patients with nephropathy than individuals with type II diabetes patients without nephropathy or healthy controls.