1
|
Fang X, Wang H, Tan X, Ye T, Xu Y, Fan J. Elevated Serum Regulator of Calcineurin 2 is Associated With an Increased Risk of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:840764. [PMID: 35370729 PMCID: PMC8967172 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.840764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: The promoting effect of the regulator of calcineurin 2 (RCAN2) in hepatic steatosis has been observed in animal studies. However, the association of RCAN2 with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in humans remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the expression of RCAN2 in the liver of mice with hepatic steatosis and in the serum of NAFLD patients and to explore the relationship between serum RCAN2 levels and NAFLD. Methods: The mRNA and protein expression of RCAN2 were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot. NAFLD was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasonography. Circulating RCAN2 levels were measured by ELISA kits. The relationship between serum RCAN2 levels and NAFLD was assessed. Results: qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis showed that compared with the corresponding controls, the mRNA and protein expression of RCAN2 were significantly increased in the liver tissues of db/db and mice on a high-fat diet. Serum RCAN2 levels were markedly elevated in NAFLD patients compared with non-NAFLD subjects. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that serum RCAN2 levels were significantly associated with NAFLD. Receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that serum RCAN2 might act as a predictive biomarker for NAFLD [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.663, 95% CI = 0.623–0.702], and the serum RCAN2/(AST/ALT) ratio displayed improved predictive accuracy (AUC = 0.816, 95% CI = 0.785–0.846). Conclusion: Elevated serum RCAN2 levels were associated with an increased risk of NAFLD. Serum RCAN2, especially the serum RCAN2/(AST/ALT) ratio, might be a candidate diagnostic marker for NAFLD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xia Fang
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.,Metabolic Vascular Disease Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China.,Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Nephropathy, Luzhou, China.,Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Luzhou, China
| | - Hongya Wang
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.,Metabolic Vascular Disease Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China.,Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Nephropathy, Luzhou, China.,Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Luzhou, China
| | - Xiaozhen Tan
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.,Metabolic Vascular Disease Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China.,Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Nephropathy, Luzhou, China.,Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Luzhou, China
| | - Ting Ye
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Yong Xu
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China.,Metabolic Vascular Disease Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China.,Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Nephropathy, Luzhou, China.,Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Luzhou, China
| | - Jiahao Fan
- Department of Gastroenterology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Wang H, Fang X, Ren Q, Zeng Y, Tan X, Ye T, Fan J, Xu Y. Association Between Circulating Regulator of Calcineurin 2 Concentrations With Overweight and Obesity. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2022; 13:857841. [PMID: 35733783 PMCID: PMC9208054 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.857841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Regulator of calcineurin 2 (RCAN2) has been reported to promote food intake and weight gain in animal studies. However, its effect on body weight in humans is unclear. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum RCAN2 concentrations and participants with overweight/obesity. METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed in 872 Chinese adults, including 348 participants with normal weight (NW), 397 participants with overweight (OW), and 127 participants with obesity (OB). All participants were divided into NW, OW and OB groups according to their body mass index (BMI). Serum RCAN2 concentrations were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS Serum RCAN2 concentrations gradually increased with the increase of BMI (p < 0.001). The percentages of OW/OB gradually increased in tandem with increasing tertiles of RCAN2 (p < 0.001). Additionally, serum RCAN2 concentrations were significantly correlated with a series of anthropometric and metabolic parameters, predominantly including body weight, BMI, SBP, DBP, total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-C, LDL-C (all p < 0.05). Furthermore, logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of OW/OB was significantly increased with the increase of serum RCAN2 concentrations. Receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that serum RCAN2, especially serum RCAN2/(AST/ALT) ratio, might serve as a candidate biomarker for obesity. CONCLUSION Serum RCAN2 concentrations were increased in subjects with OW/OB. The increased serum RCAN2 concentrations were associated with the increased risks of OW/OB.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hongya Wang
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Luzhou, China
- Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Nephropathy, Luzhou, China
- Metabolic Vascular Disease Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China
| | - Xia Fang
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Luzhou, China
- Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Nephropathy, Luzhou, China
- Metabolic Vascular Disease Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China
| | - Qian Ren
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Luzhou, China
- Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Nephropathy, Luzhou, China
- Metabolic Vascular Disease Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China
| | - Yan Zeng
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Luzhou, China
- Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Nephropathy, Luzhou, China
- Metabolic Vascular Disease Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China
| | - Xiaozhen Tan
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Luzhou, China
- Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Nephropathy, Luzhou, China
- Metabolic Vascular Disease Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China
| | - Ting Ye
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Jiahao Fan
- Department of Gastroenterology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Jiahao Fan, ; Yong Xu,
| | - Yong Xu
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Key Laboratory of Luzhou, Luzhou, China
- Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Nephropathy, Luzhou, China
- Metabolic Vascular Disease Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Jiahao Fan, ; Yong Xu,
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Abstract
Rcan2 increases food intake and plays an important role in the development of age- and diet- induced obesity in male mice. However, in females, wild-type mice grow almost at a similar rate as Rcan2-/- mice on normal chow diet from 6 weeks of age. Here we showed that the ability of Rcan2 to promote weight gain was attenuated by energy expenditure mediated by 17β-estradiol in female mice. Using ovariectomy-operated models, we found that 17β-estradiol deprivation did not alter food intake, but induced more weight gain in wild-type mice than Rcan2-/- mice. If wild-type mice ingested equally as Rcan2-/- mice, in the same ovarian state they exhibited similar weight changes, but the mice in ovariectomized groups were significantly heavier than the ovarian-intact mice, suggesting that body weight is not only regulated by Rcan2, but also by 17β-estradiol. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Rcan2 and 17β-estradiol independently regulated body weight even on high-fat diets. Therefore, our findings indicate that Rcan2 and 17β-estradiol regulate body weight through different mechanisms. Rcan2 increases food intake, whereas 17β-estradiol promotes energy expenditure. These findings provide novel insights into the sexual dimorphism of body weight regulation.
Collapse
|