Serum asprosin levels are associated with obesity and insulin resistance in Arab adults

Background: Asprosin, a novel adipokine, has been implicated in glucose regulation, insulin production, and appetite stimulation. Hence, the current study explores circulating asprosin levels and their associations with insulin resistance (IR) and other parameters in obese and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) Saudi subjects. Methods: A total of N = 291 (89 control, 105 T2DM/obese and 97 obese) subjects were included in this cross-sectional study. Fasting glucose and lipid profiles were measured routinely. Adiponectin, leptin, C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1, and asprosin were measured using commercially available assays. Results: Serum asprosin levels were found to be significantly highest in obese subjects [3.7 ng/ml (2.6-5.0)] than T2DM/obese [0.1 ng/ml (0.0-0.4)] and controls [0.2 ng/ml (0.1-0.3)] (p < 0.001). In the T2DM/obese group, users of metformin alone or in combination had significantly lower asprosin levels than those whose medication history was unknown [0.03 ng/ml (0.02-0.05) versus 0.2 ng/ml (0.1-0.4); p < 0.001]. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed that only glucose, insulin and adiponectin were the most important predictors of asprosin, explaining 61.3% (p < 0.001) of the variances perceived. Conclusion: Asprosin levels are associated with markers of IR independent of adiposity and inflammation and are influenced by oral hypoglycemics, particularly metformin. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.