HGF and type 2 diabetes mellitus: Although HGF might originate from sources other than the circulating monocytes, it is nevertheless possible that HGF in the serum could have affected the function of the circulating monocytes in patients with T2D, since the current study shows that monocytes of patients with T2D do express the HGF receptor, though not differently from monocytes of the non-diabetic controls.