Circulating levels of irisin in middle-aged first-degree relatives of type 2 diabetes mellitus — correlation with pancreatic β-cell function

BACKGROUND: Irisin is a novel myokine secreted in response to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) activation through exercise. The first-degree relatives (FDRs) of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients bear a lifetime risk for developing T2DM, especially after 40 years old. However, the circulating irisin levels in middle-aged FDRs of T2DM is unclear. We therefore investigated the association between circulating irisin and pancreatic β-cell function in normal-glucose-tolerance (NGT) subjects. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 412 supposed healthy subjects aged 40-60 who were FDRs of T2DM patients but without previous diagnosis of T2DM. Of the 412 individuals, 254 had NGT and 60 were newly diagnosed T2DM based on the results of a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT- World Health Organization diagnostic criteria). We measured irisin in the newly diagnosed T2DM group (n = 60) and in an age- and sex-matched NGT subgroups (n = 62). Serum irisin was quantified by ELISA, and its association with metabolic parameters was analysed by Pearson’s correlation and multiple linear regression analyses. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in serum irisin between middle-aged newly diagnosed T2DM patients and the NGT control group. Circulating irisin was correlated with haemoglobin A1c (r = 0.202, p = 0.026) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (r = 0.239, p = 0.010). Multiple linear regression revealed that only homeostasis model assessment-β (HOMA-β) was associated with irisin in NGT subjects after adjusting for confounding factors. However, similar analysis in T2DM did not reveal a significant association between circulating irisin and metabolic parameters. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference in serum irisin between middle-aged newly diagnosed T2DM patients and the NGT controls. Serum irisin level was closely related to HOMA-β in NGT, suggesting that irisin may play a crucial role in pancreatic β-cell function.