Short-Term Impact of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy on Serum Cartonectin and Vaspin Levels in Obese Subjects

Short-term changes and correlations of plasma spexin, kisspeptin, and galanin levels after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy

PURPOSE

To determine the circulating levels of spexin, kisspeptin, galanin, and the correlations between these peptides after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG).

METHODS

The plasma levels of the spexin, kisspeptin, and galanin and metabolic parameters (body mass index, weight loss, % excess weight loss, body fat, fasting glucose, HbA1C, and cholesterol levels) were measured (baseline, 1 month, and 3 months) and correlated in thirty adult individuals with obesity (22 female and 8 male) after LSG.

RESULTS

The body mass index (BMI), body fat, fasting glucose, total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and % EWL (excess weight loss) increased at 3 months after surgery. The plasma spexin levels increased at 3 months, kisspeptin levels increased at 1 month and stabilized afterward, and galanin levels decreased at 3 months after LSG. Significant correlations were found between metabolic parameters with spexin, kisspeptin, and galanin. In addition, spexin and kisspeptin were negatively correlated with galanin, while spexin was positively correlated with kisspeptin.

CONCLUSIONS

The biochemical data reveal evidence that LSG causes an increase in the levels of spexin, and kisspeptin and a decrease in galanin levels. Our findings, therefore, suggest a possible interaction between these novel peptides, which have potential roles in obesity and glucose metabolism.

Vaspin promotes insulin sensitivity of elderly muscle and is upregulated in obesity

Adipokines have emerged as central mediators of insulin sensitivity and metabolism, in part due to the known association of obesity with metabolic syndrome disorders such as type 2 diabetes. Recent studies in rodents have identified the novel adipokine vaspin, as playing a protective role in inflammatory metabolic diseases by functioning to promote insulin sensitivity during metabolic stress. However, at present the skeletal muscle and adipose tissue expression of vaspin in humans is poorly characterised. Furthermore, the functional role of vaspin in skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity has not been studied. Since skeletal muscle is the major tissue for insulin-stimulated glucose uptake understanding the functional role of vaspin in human muscle insulin signalling is critical in determining its role in glucose homeostasis. The objective of this study was to profile the skeletal muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue expression of vaspin in humans of varying adiposity and to determine the functional role of vaspin in mediating insulin signalling and glucose uptake in human skeletal muscle. Our data shows that vaspin is secreted from both human subcutaneous adipose tissue and skeletal muscle, and is more highly expressed in obese older individuals compared to lean older individuals. Furthermore, we demonstrate that vaspin induces activation of the PI3K/AKT axis, independent of insulin receptor activation, promotes GLUT4 expression and translocation and sensitises older obese human skeletal muscle to insulin-mediated glucose uptake.