Study of Serum Betatrophin Level as a Biochemical Marker in Patients with Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Internal Medicine, Sherbin Central Hospital, Ministry of Health, Egypt

2 Department of Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt

3 Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Type 2diabetes mellitus [T2DM] is a global health problem with high morbidity and mortality. Betatrophin is a novel circulating protein produced by the adipose tissue and the liver.  It is a newly identified endocrine regulator associated with insulin resistance [IR], metabolism of lipid and glucose homeostasis. It increase under states of IR to increase the proliferation of β-cell and stimulate insulin secretion. 
The Aim of The Work:  The study aim is to evaluate the serum betatrophin-levels in normal and in subjects with diabetes .To investigate the association of  betatrophin with IR and other study parameters.
Patients and Methods: Forty nine patients with T2DM [different ages and both sex] and forty healthy subjects [sex and age matched] as a control group were included in the study. Betatrophin was measured using Human Betatrophin ELISA Kit. Fasting blood glucose [FBG], lipid profile, fasting insulin, glycated hemoglobin, serum creatinine, albumin -creatinine ratio [ACR] and protein to creatinine ratio [PCR] in urine were assessed.
Results: Betatrophin was higher in patients with diabetes than in the control group. In the group with diabetes, serum betatrophin level ranged from 18-25.5ng/l with a median value of 20, while in the control group betatrophin level ranged from 15-19 ng/l with a median value of 18 [P< 0.001]. Betatrophin at a cut off  ≥ 19.5 ng/ml can discriminate patients with DM from non-DM participants  [AUC=0.75, P <0.001] being specific rather than sensitive.
Conclusion: The concentrations of betatrophin were significantly increased in patients with diabetes and were further increased in parallel to the decrease in the beta cell function. Thus, the level of serum betatrophin plays a potential role in the pathogenesis and detection of T2DM. 

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