Low serum levels of meteorin-like/subfatin: an indicator of diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance?

Introduction: Meteorin-like (Metrnl), also known as subfatin, is a recently discovered adipokine with a favourable effect on insulin sensitivity. Studies have shown lower Metrnl levels in obese patients. However, data on its circulating levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients are contradictory. This study aims to evaluate serum Metrnl levels in T2DM patients and determine the relationship between serum Metrnl levels and insulin resistance in these patients. Material and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 participants. The study was carried out between June 2019 and December 2019 at the internal medicine outpatient clinic of a tertiary university hospital. The participants were divided into three groups: group 1 (control group, n = 50), group 2 (newly diagnosed T2DM, n = 50), and group 3 (long-standing diagnosed T2DM, n = 50). An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the serum levels of Subfatin (Metrnl), and the correlations of Metrnl level with anthropometric parameters, HOMA index, and biochemical measurements were assessed. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the gender (p = 0.468) and age (p = 0.067) characteristics of the three groups. The Metrnl (subfatin) levels of the participants were as follows: control group – 20.05 (1.56–103.78); newly diagnosed T2DM group – 2.62 (1.25–103.78); and long-standing diagnosed T2DM group – 2.01 (0.80–19.84) pg/mL. The Metrnl (subfatin) levels of the participants in the control group were higher than in the participants in the newly diagnosed T2DM and long-standing diagnosed T2DM groups (p < 0.001). Subfatin demonstrated a negative correlation with insulin and HOMA-IR in the control group and long-standing diagnosed T2DM group. Conclusions: The subfatin level was found to be higher in the healthy control group than in both diabetic patient groups. Subfatin level showed negative correlation with both insulin level and HOMA index. There was a relationship between subfatin and insulin resistance. Low levels of subfatin in the diabetic patient groups may play a role in the pathogenesis of T2DM by increasing insulin resistance

Low serum levels of meteorin-like/subfatin is related to obesity and insulin resistance

Introduction: Meteorin-like (Metrnl), also known as subfatin is a newly discovered adipokine of adipocyte origin that may play a role in obesity and insulin resistance. The current study aimed to investigate the association between subfatin and biochemical values, demographic characteristics, and insulin resistance in obese patients and healthy controls.Methods: This cross-sectional study included 59 obese patients with sex and age-matched group of 41 healthy controls. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the serum levels of Subfatin (Metrnl), and the correlations of Metrnl level with anthropometric parameters, HOMA index, and biochemical measurements were assessed.Results: The levels of BMI (p lt;0.001), insulin (p=0.002), and HOMA-IR score (p lt;0.001) were significantly higher in obese patients than controls. The serum levels of Subfatin were found to be lower in obese patients (1.85 [1.35–5.51] ng/ml) compared to the healthy controls (21.82 [12.61–27.76] ng/ml) (p lt;0.001). Subfatin had a significantly negative relationship with age (r =-0.250, p=0.012), weight (r =-0.373, p=0.001), BMI (r =-0.492, p=0.001), HbA1c (r =-0.209, p=0.037), LDL (r =-0.264, p=0.008), HOMA-IR (r =-0.223, p=0.026), and glucose (r =-0.376, p lt;0.001). There was a significantly positive correlation between subfatin and height (r=0.321, p=0.001).Conclusion: These results show that levels of subfatin were decreased in obese patients. There is a relationship between circulating amounts of subfatin hormone and age, weight, height, LDL-cholesterol, glucose, hbA1c, and HOMA-IR. Subfatin might be a new biomarker of obesity and insulin resistance.Keywords: Meteorin-like/subfatin, adiposity, insulin resistance, adipokines, biomarkers, diabetes mellitus type

Elabela levels in patients with type 2 diabetes: can it be a marker for diabetic nephropathy?

Backround: Elabela (ELA) is a hormone that is secreted at high levels in the kidneys of a healthy adult. This study aims to investigate whether serum ELA levels of patients with Type 2 Diabetes vary with the severity of renal damage. Methods: Our study included 50 healthy control subjects and 100 diabetic patients, who were categorized into groups based on urine albumin/creatinine ratios (ACR). Patients included in the study were assigned to four groups: Group 1 (healthy control), Group 2 (ACR<29mg/g), Group 3 (ACR=30-299 mg/g), and Group 4 (ACR>300 mg/g normal or high serum creatinine). Physical examination findings, demographic characteristics of the study group were recorded, and serum ELA levels and other laboratory parameters were assessed using appropriate methods. Results: The results of the study indicated that ELA levels determined in healthy individuals gradually decreased through stages of normal albuminuria, microalbuminuria, and macroalbuminuria. Moreover, ELA had a significant negative correlation with LDL-C (r=-0.201, p=0.014), glucose (r=-0.437, P<0.001), retinopathy (r=-0.222, P=0.006), serum BUN (r=-0.161, P=0.049), and a positive correlation with eGFR (r=0.250, P=0.002). Conclusions: The fact that ELA levels are higher in healthy individuals compared to diabetic patients without microalbuminuria, and higher in diabetic patients without microalbuminuria compared to patients with advanced albuminuria and kidney damage, suggests that the ELA level can be an important clinical prognostic variable and even a promising agent for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy patients