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Serum levels of proamylin and amylin in normal subjects and patients with impaired glucose regulation and type 2 diabetes mellitus

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Abstract

Amylin is the major constituent of pancreatic islet amyloid whose accumulation characterizes patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Although amylin is tightly linked with T2DM, in many cases, proamylin may be the more toxic species. As the precursor of amylin, however, the pathophysiological role of proamylin remains unknown. In this study, we investigate whether serum levels of proamylin or amylin or the proamylin/amylin ratios are different among normal subjects and patients with impaired glucose regulation (IGR) and T2DM. Totally 79 subjects were divided into three groups according to the results of oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT); they were T2DM group (32 cases), IGR group (23cases), and normal glucose tolerance (NGT) group (24cases). Serum levels of amylin and proamylin were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The relationships between serum levels of proamylin, amylin, their ratios and anthropometric and metabolic parameters were also analyzed. The serum levels of proamylin were significantly higher in patients with IGR and T2DM than in control subjects. The serum levels of proamylin were significantly associated with IGR and T2DM, with the odds ratios of 1.589 (95%CI, 1.228–2.055, P < 0.01) and 1.860 (95%CI, 1.342–2.587, P < 0.01), respectively. Both fasting serum levels of proamylin and proamylin/amylin ratios were found to correlate negatively with HOMA-B and ΔI30/ΔG30. Serum levels of proamylin, amylin, and their ratios were positively correlated with HOMA-IR. BMI and HOMA-B were independent related factors with serum levels of proamylin. Our results suggest that proamylin may play an important role in amyloid deposit in patients with IGR and T2DM.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Medical Science Research Fund of Chongqing Health Bureau (Number: 2008-2-96) and the Medical Science Research Fund of the First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University. (Number: YXJ2009-03). We thank the Key Lab of Ophthalmology of The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University for the use of laboratory.

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All authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, 400016, Chongqing, China

    Xiaoya Zheng, Wei Ren, Suhua Zhang, Jingjing Liu, Sufang Li & Jinchao Li

  2. Clinical Laboratory of The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, 400016, Chongqing, China

    Ping Yang

  3. Lab of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, 400016, Chongqing, China

    Jun He, Shaochu Su & Ping Li

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  1. Xiaoya Zheng
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  2. Wei Ren
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Correspondence to Wei Ren.

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Zheng, X., Ren, W., Zhang, S. et al. Serum levels of proamylin and amylin in normal subjects and patients with impaired glucose regulation and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Acta Diabetol 47, 265–270 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00592-010-0201-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00592-010-0201-9

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