Circulating alarin concentrations are high in patients with type 2 diabetes and increased by glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist treatment: An Consort-compliant study

CONTEXT: Alarin has been reported to be relative to food intake and an increase in body weight. However, to date, no report has demonstrated the relationship between circulating alarin and diabetes in humans. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to gain insight into the possible role of alarin in humans. DESIGN AND METHODS: 164 patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (nT2DM), 112 IGT and 134 healthy subjects were recruited for this study. In an interventional study, 29 nT2DM patients were treated by a weekly GLP-1RA for 6 months. Plasma alarin concentrations were measured by ELISA. RESULTS: Circulating alarin concentrations were significantly higher in both IGT and nT2DM subjects than in healthy individuals (0.40 ± 0.14 and 0.54 ± 0.24 vs 0.37 ± 0.10 μg/L, P < .05 or P < .01), whereas in T2DM patients, circulating alarin levels were higher than in IGT subjects. Circulating alarin positively correlated with FBG, HbA1c, HOMA-IR, AUC(glucose) and TNFα (P < .05 or P < .01). Multivariate logistic regression revealed that circulating alarin levels were correlated with IGT and T2DM. GLP-1RA treatment for 6 months increased circulating alarin levels in T2DM patients (from 0.34 ± 0.10 for baseline, to 0.39 ± 0.14 for 12 weeks, and finally to 0.38 ± 0.15 μg/L for 24 weeks; vs. pre-treatment P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that alarin might be involved in the pathogenesis of T2DM in humans. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR-OCS-13003185 (18/03/2013 ).