Omentin Plasma Levels and Gene Expression Are Decreased in Obesity

  1. Celia M. de Souza Batista12,
  2. Rong-Ze Yang1,
  3. Mi-Jeong Lee1,
  4. Nicole M. Glynn1,
  5. Dao-Zhan Yu1,
  6. Jessica Pray1,
  7. Kelechi Ndubuizu3,
  8. Susheel Patil4,
  9. Alan Schwartz4,
  10. Mark Kligman5,
  11. Susan K. Fried16,
  12. Da-Wei Gong12,
  13. Alan R. Shuldiner126,
  14. Toni I. Pollin1 and
  15. John C. McLenithan126
  1. 1Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
  2. 2Department of Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
  3. 3Department of Biology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland
  4. 4Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
  5. 5Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
  6. 6Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland
  1. Address correspondence and reprint requests to John C. McLenithan, 660 West Redwood St., Room 490, Baltimore, MD 21201. E-mail: jmcle001{at}umaryland.edu

Abstract

Central obesity and the accumulation of visceral fat are risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Omentin is a protein expressed and secreted from visceral but not subcutaneous adipose tissue that increases insulin sensitivity in human adipocytes. To determine the impact of obesity-dependent insulin resistance on the regulation of two omentin isoforms, gene expression and plasma levels were measured in lean, overweight, and obese subjects. Omentin 1 was shown to be the major circulating isoform in human plasma. Lean subjects had significantly higher plasma omentin 1 levels than obese and overweight subjects. In addition, higher plasma omentin 1 levels were detected in women compared with men. Plasma omentin 1 levels were inversely correlated with BMI, waist circumference, leptin levels, and insulin resistance as measured by homeostasis model assessment and positively correlated with adiponectin and HDL levels. Both omentin 1 and omentin 2 gene expression were decreased with obesity and were highly correlated with each other in visceral adipose tissue. In summary, decreased omentin levels are associated with increasing obesity and insulin resistance. Therefore, omentin levels may be predictive of the metabolic consequences or co-morbidities associated with obesity.

Footnotes

  • Published ahead of print at http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org on 28 February 2007. DOI: 10.2337/db06-1506.

  • The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked “advertisement” in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

    • Accepted February 20, 2007.
    • Received October 26, 2006.
« Previous | Next Article »Table of Contents

This Article

  1. Published online before print February 28, 2007, doi: 10.2337/db06-1506 Diabetes June 2007 vol. 56 no. 6 1655-1661
  1. » Abstract
  2. Full Text
  3. Full Text (PDF)
  4. All Versions of this Article:
    1. db06-1506v1
    2. 56/6/1655 most recent

Current Issue

  1. December 2009, 58 (12)
    Current Issue
  1. Alert me to new issues of Diabetes