Correlation of serum meteorin-like concentrations with diabetic nephropathy

Objective: Meteorin-like (Metrnl), a secreted myokine, is induced in white adipose tissue during cold exposure and in muscle after exercise. The present investigation aims to determine the hypothesis that serum Metrnl concentrations are correlated with diabetic nephropathy (DN). Methods: The investigation was performed in a population of 221 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and 74 healthy subjects. T2DM patients were divided into three groups: normoalbuminuria (n = 100), microalbuminuria (n = 86), and macroalbuminuria (n = 35) subgroups based on urine albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR). Results: All the three T2DM subgroups showed lower serum Metrnl concentrations compared with the controls. Serum Metrnl concentrations were significantly decreased in T2DM patients with macroalbuminuria group than in the other T2DM subgroups. In addition, T2DM patients with microalbuminuria group had decreased serum Metrnl concentrations compared with those with normoalbuminuria; however, the difference was not significant. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated a correlation between serum Metrnl and a decreased risk of T2DM and DN (OR: 0.954, 95% CI: 0.935-0.973, P < 0.001 and OR: 0.981, 95% CI: 0.971-0.997, P = 0.014, respectively). Simply linear regression analysis indicated a negative association between serum Metrnl and duration of disease, body mass index (BMI), HbA1c, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, uric acid, ACR, and angiotensinconverting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blockers treatment. BMI, HbA1c, and ACR were still correlated with the serum Metrnl after a multiple linear regression analysis. Conclusion: Serum Metrnl concentrations are inversely correlated with renal function and DN. (c) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.