The C-terminal pro-fibrillin-1 propeptide asprosin is described as white adipose tissue derived hormone that stimulates rapid hepatic glucose release and activates hunger-promoting hypothalamic neurons. Numerous studies proposed correlations of asprosin levels with clinical parameters. However, the enormous variability of reported serum and plasma asprosin levels illustrates the need for sensitive and reliable detection methods in clinical samples. Here we report on newly developed biochemical methods for asprosin concentration and detection in several body fluids including serum, plasma, saliva, breast milk, and urine. Since we found that glycosylation impacts human asprosin detection we analyzed its glycosylation profile. Employing a new sandwich ELISA revealed that serum and saliva asprosin correlate strongly, depend on biological sex, and feeding status. To investigate the contribution of connective tissue-derived asprosin to serum levels we screened two cohorts with described cartilage turnover. Serum asprosin correlated with COMP, a marker for cartilage degradation upon running exercise and after total hip replacement surgery. This together with our finding that asprosin is produced by primary human chondrocytes and expressed in human cartilage suggests a contribution of cartilage to serum asprosin. Furthermore, we determined asprosin levels in breast milk, and urine, for the first time, and propose saliva asprosin as an accessible clinical marker for future studies.
Objective: Asprosin is a recently discovered hormone associated with obesity and diabetes mellitus. Little is known about asprosin’s role during pregnancy, but a contribution of asprosin to pregnancy complications resulting from maternal obesity and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are conceivable. We assessed potential effects of obesity, GDM and other clinical parameters on maternal and fetal umbilical plasma asprosin concentrations and placental asprosin expression. Methods: We studied maternal and fetal umbilical plasma and placentas of pregnant women with an elective, primary section. Sandwich ELISA measurements of maternal and fetal umbilical plasma and immunohistochemical stainings of placental tissue were performed to determine asprosin levels. Also, the relation between asprosin levels and clinical blood parameters was studied. Results: There was a strong correlation between maternal and fetal plasma asprosin levels and both increased with GDM in normal-weight and obese women. In the correlation study, BMI and GDM were not but pre-pregnancy exercise and smoking were correlated with maternal and/or fetal asprosin levels. Asprosin immunoreactivity was measured in cultivated placental cells and placental tissue. Placental asprosin levels were associated with maternal but not with fetal plasma asprosin levels and with BMI but not with GDM. Placental asprosin was related to maternal insulin levels and increased upon insulin-treatment in GDM patients. Conclusions: Asprosin could potentially act as a biomarker and contribute to the clinical manifestation of pregnancy complications associated with maternal obesity.
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