Serum Levels of Asprosin, a Novel Adipokine, Are Significantly Lowered in Patients with Acromegaly

BACKGROUND: Asprosin is a novel identified adipokine secreted mainly by white adipose tissue, which is elevated in metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Acromegaly is a syndrome caused by pituitary growth hormone (GH) cell adenoma with excessive GH secretion. Serum adipocytokines levels may be involved in abnormal glycolipid metabolism in acromegaly patients. OBJECTIVES: To investigate serum asprosin levels in acromegaly patients and its correlation with high GH levels and glucolipid metabolic parameters. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study was conducted and 68 acromegaly patients and 121 controls were included in this study. Clinical information and laboratory examinations were collected and serum asprosin levels were measured by commercial ELISA kits. RESULTS: Serum asprosin levels in acromegaly patients were significantly lower than controls (P < 0.001). Serum asprosin levels in patients with the course of acromegaly ≥5 years (compared with <5 years), high area under curve of growth hormone (GH-AUC) after 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) (compared with low GH-AUC patients), and high IGF-1 SDS group (compared with low IGF-1 SDS group) were significantly reduced (all P < 0.05). Serum asprosin levels in acromegaly patients were negatively correlated with the course of acromegaly, IGF-1 SDS, nadir growth hormone value (GH-Nadir), and GH-AUC after OGTT. Multiple stepwise linear regression indicated that acromegaly was an independent influencing factor of serum asprosin levels. According to serum asprosin levels tertiles, the risk of acromegaly in the lowest group was 2.67 times higher than the highest group (OR ＝ 3.665, 95% CI 1.677 ∼ 8.007, P=0.001), and the increased risk of the lowest group still existed after adjusting for gender, age, BMI, and TC (Model 2). CONCLUSIONS: Serum asprosin levels in acromegaly patients are lowered, which may be related to increased blood glucose and reduced body fat mass caused by long-term high GH levels exposure.