Gender-Dependent Associations between Serum Betatrophin Levels and Lipoprotein Subfractions in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Obese Patients

Abstract

Betatrophin, also known as angiopoietin-like protein 8 (ANGPTL8), mainly plays a role in lipid metabolism. To date, associations between betatrophin and lipoprotein subfractions are poorly investigated. For this study, 50 obese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and 70 nondiabetic obese (NDO) subjects matched in gender, age, and body mass index (BMI) as well as 49 gender- and age-matched healthy, normal-weight controls were enrolled. Serum betatrophin levels were measured with ELISA, and lipoprotein subfractions were analyzed using Lipoprint gel electrophoresis. Betatrophin concentrations were found to be significantly higher in the T2D and NDO groups compared to the controls in all subjects and in females, but not in males. We found significant positive correlations between triglyceride, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), large LDL (low density lipoprotein), small LDL, high density lipoprotein (HDL) -6-10 subfractions, and betatrophin, while negative correlations were detected between betatrophin and IDL, mean LDL size, and HDL-1-5. Proportion of small HDL was the best predictor of betatrophin in all subjects. Small LDL and large HDL subfractions were found to be the best predictors in females, while in males, VLDL was found to be the best predictor of betatrophin. Our results underline the significance of serum betatrophin measurement in the cardiovascular risk assessment of obese patients with and without T2D, but gender differences might be taken into consideration.

Associations between Serum Kallistatin Levels and Markers of Glucose Homeostasis, Inflammation, and Lipoprotein Metabolism in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Nondiabetic Obesity

“…Atherogenic dyslipidemia—characterized by higher triglycerides, VLDL, large LDL, small-dense LDL levels, and a smaller mean LDL size, as well as shifting toward small-sized HDL subfractions in NDO and obese T2D patients compared to lean controls—has been described in previous studies, and these finding are in line with the literature data [ 12 , 13 ]. Only one previous study reported a positive correlation between the serum kallistatin level and triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, i.e., VLDL in T2D patients with diabetic nephropathy [ 7 ].…”

“…Betatrophin, also known as angiopoietin-like protein 8 (ANGPTL8), is a protein that mainly plays a role in lipid metabolism [ 16 ]. Elevated serum betatrophin levels have been reported previously in T2D and obese patients [ 13 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Therefore, its significant positive correlation with kallistatin in NDO patients and in the whole study population is probably not surprising but a novel finding.…”