Glycated Proteins, Glycine, Acetate, and Monounsaturated Fatty Acids May Act as New Biomarkers to Predict the Progression of Type 2 Diabetes: Secondary Analyses of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Food protein or food-derived peptides may regulate blood glucose levels; however, studies have shown inconsistent results. The aim of the present study was to characterize subgroups of individuals with increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and to investigate the cardiometabolic effects of fish protein in the same subgroups. We first divided participants into high insuliniAUC and low insuliniAUC subjects based on their insulin incremental area under the curve (iAUC) levels after a 2 h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and secondly based on whether they had received 5.2 g salmon fish protein or placebo for 8 weeks, in a previously conducted randomized controlled trial (RCT). We then profiled these groups by analyzing plasma metabolomics and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) gene expression. Compared to the low insuliniAUC group, the high insuliniAUC group had higher plasma concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and glycated proteins (GlycA) and lower concentrations of glycine and acetate. After intervention with fish protein compared to placebo, however, only acetate was significantly increased in the low insuliniAUC group. In conclusion, we identified metabolic biomarkers known to be associated with T2D; also, intervention with fish protein did not affect cardiometabolic risk markers in subgroups with increased risk of T2D.

Towards Individually Tailored Diets in Prevention and Treatment of Diabetes?

“…This Special Issue includes three other papers dealing with the study design and feasibility of randomized studies on the effect of group and Internet-based counseling interventions on the incidence of T2D and deterioration of glucose metabolism in groups with high vs. low genetic risk scores for T2D [ 3 ]; a review on the gut-microbiota-derived metabolite indole propionic acid [ 4 ]; and a secondary analysis on metabolites and gene expression data obtained from a fish protein intervention study with an eight-week duration [ 5 ]. We hope the studies in this Special Issue will stimulate interest in precision medicine regarding nutrition.…”

“…The fish meat study in this Special Issue reports the metabolomics and gene expression data obtained from an eight-week intervention study with 5.2 g/d of salmon protein. Salmon protein had no effect on glucose metabolism [ 5 ]. The authors report metabolomics and gene expression data analyzed from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of the study participants, comparing the data of individuals with a high vs. low insulin response (AUC values) in a 2 h oral glucose tolerance test.…”

“…No statistically significant differences between the high- and low-insulin-response groups were observed in gene expression when accounting for multiple comparisons. The statistical power was limited due to the small number of study participants [ 5 ].…”

“…Salmon protein had no effect on glucose metabolism [5]. The authors report metabolomics and gene expression data analyzed from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of the study participants, comparing the data of individuals with a high vs. low insulin response (AUC values) in a 2 h oral glucose tolerance test.…”