Elevated Serum Levels of Adropin in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and its Association with Insulin Resistance

"Evidence suggests a hormone peptide named adropin, is involved in lipid metabolism, insulin resistance, and obesity. However, its role in pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is still unclear in humans. Therefore, we investigated whether adropin levels are altered in T2DM patients, and evaluated its association with diabetes- related parameters. Men with T2DM (n=40) and age-matched healthy men (n=40) were participated in case-control study. Serum adropin levels were determined by ELISA. Adropin levels were found to be significantly (p=0.004) higher in T2DM patients (median=2.5ng/ml; interquartile range=1.28ng/ml) compared to healthy controls (Median=1.9ng/ml; interquartile range =0.6ng/ml). Adropin was inversely correlated with FBG (Spearman's rho= -0.335; p=0.017) in T2DM patients and was also negatively correlated with HOMA-IR (Spearman's rho= -0.391; p=0.024). Adropin i‚³ 2.25 ng/ml was the best cut-off point to differentiate T2DM patients from healthy controls (sensitivity= 57.5%; specificity= 82.5%; positive predictive value=76.67%; negative predictive value=66%). We showed that T2DM patients have higher adropin levels, and serum level of adropin is inversely associated with insulin resistance; therefore indicating a close association between adropin and T2DM. However, further studies are necessary to establish the role of adropin in diabetes."