Introduction: A recent in-vitro and in-vivo experimental study has revealed that family with sequence similarity 19 [chemokine (C-C motif)-like] member A5 (FAM19A5), a novel secreted adipokine has inhibitory effects on proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells, and neointima formation of injured arteries. However, the relationship between serum FAM19A5 level and cardio-metabolic risks has not been evaluated in humans. For the first time, we investigated the association between serum FAM19A5 concentration with various metabolic and vascular risk factors in human subjects with or without type 2 diabetes.
Methods: Circulating FAM19A5 concentration was measured in 223 individuals (45 without diabetes and 178 with type 2 diabetes), and the association of FAM19A5 level with cardio-metabolic risk factors including body composition, plasma glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and atherosclerosis was explored.
Results: Serum FAM19A5 (pg/ml) was higher in patients with type 2 diabetes [172.70 (116.19, 286.42)] compared with that in individuals without diabetes [92.09 (70.32, 147.24)] (p<0.001). Advance in serum FAM19A5 tertile was associated with a trend of increase in waist hip ratio (WHR), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and mean brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) values. Serum FAM19A5 was positively correlated with waist circumference, WHR, alanine aminotransferase, FPG, HbA1c, and mean baPWV values. Multiple stepwise regression analysis identified WHR, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and baPWV as determining factors for log-transformed serum FAM19A5 concentration (R2=0.0689).
Discussion: A novel adipokine FAM19A5 was closely related to various metabolic and vascular risk factors in human subjects, suggesting its potential as a biomarker of cardio-metabolic disease in humans.
Y. Lee: None. J.A. Kim: None. E. Roh: None. S. Hong: None. K. Choi: None. S. Baik: None. H. Yoo: None.
