Circulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor, leptin, neuropeptide Y, and their clinical correlates in cystic fibrosis: a cross-sectional study

Serum Levels of Hormones Regulating Appetite in Patients with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Prenatal alcohol exposure is the cause of impaired growth and a wide range of developmental and behavioral disorders in the child. Improper eating patterns are commonly associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and may contribute to poor nutrition and growth restriction. To date, there have been only a few studies investigating the hormonal regulation of appetite in patients with FASD. We analyzed the levels of neuropeptide Y (NPY), Agouti signaling protein (ASP), alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH), and kisspeptin (KISS1) in 57 patients with FASD and 23 healthy controls. A comparison of the hormone levels studied was also performed in subgroups of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and neurobehavioral disorder associated with prenatal alcohol exposure (ND PAE), as well as in males and females. We have found no differences in hormone levels tested between affected individuals and the controls and between FASD subgroups. In addition, sex had no effect on hormone levels. However, we identified some associations between hormone concentrations and parameters describing the clinical status of patients with FASD. Most of them concerned ASP, which has shown a positive correlation with age and hormones involved in appetite and metabolism, such as proopiomelanocortin (POMC) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). We have also found a negative correlation of α-MSH with age, BMI percentile, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Furthermore, we found a weak negative correlation of NPY with HbA1c. Although FASD has been associated with impaired child growth and development, including nutrition and puberty onset, we did not identify differences in the levels of the hormones studied, which may suggest that prenatal alcohol exposure does not affect the levels of these metabolites.

Serum Appetite-Regulating Hormone Levels in Cystic Fibrosis Patients: Influence of the Disease Severity and the Type of Bacterial Infection-A Pilot Study

Cystic fibrosis (CF) belongs to the most common inherited diseases. The severity of the disease and chronic bacterial infections are associated with a lower body index, undernutrition, higher number of pulmonary exacerbations, more hospital admissions, and increased mortality. The aim of our study was to determine the impact of the severity of the disease and the type of bacterial infection in 38 CF patients on the serum level of appetite-regulating hormones including leptin, ghrelin, neuropeptide Y, agouti-signaling protein, proopiomelanocortin, kisspeptin, putative protein Y, and α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone. The patients were divided according to the severity of the disease according to spirometry and the type of chronic bacterial infection. We found that leptin level was significantly higher in patients with severe CF than in patients with mild disease (20.02 ± 8.09 vs. 12.38 ± 6.03 ng/mL, p = 0.028). Furthermore, leptin level was elevated in patients with chronic infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa compared to uninfected participants (15.74 ± 7.02 vs. 9.28 ± 1.72 ng/mL, p = 0.043). The severity of the disease and the type of bacterial infection did not affect the levels of other appetite-regulating hormones. Moreover, we found a positive correlation between pro-inflammatory interleukin-6 and leptin level (p = 0.0426, R = 0.333). Taken together, our results indicate that both the severity of the disease and the type of bacterial infection are associated with elevated leptin levels in CF patients. Future CF treatment strategies should consider possible disturbances in the hormones that regulate appetite and the factors that influence their levels.

Lack of association between leptin concentrations and cystic fibrosis: A meta-analysis and regression

BACKGROUND

Leptin (LEP) acts as a proinflammatory cytokine and may play an important role in the pathophysiology of cystic fibrosis (CF). This review aimed to assess the quantitative difference in leptin status between CF patients and non-CF controls.

METHODS

In this study, the researchers conducted systematic searches of various databases, such as PubMed, Excerpta Medica Database, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure. The data collected from the above databases were assessed using the Stata 11.0 and R 4.1.3 software. The correlation coefficients and the Standardized Mean Differences (SMD) were employed to assess the effect size. A combination analysis was also carried out with the help of either a fixed-effects or random-effects model. In addition, the single-cell sequencing GSE193782 dataset was obtained to determine the mRNA expression levels of LEP and leptin receptor (LEPR) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, to verify the different leptin expression between the CF patients and healthy controls.

RESULTS

A total of 919 CF patients and 397 controls from 14 articles were included in this study. CF patients and non-CF controls showed similar serum/plasma leptin levels. Gender, specimen testing, age, and study design were all taken into account for carrying out subgroup analyses. The results revealed no variations in serum/plasma leptin levels between the controls and CF patients in the various subgroups. Female CF patients exhibited higher leptin concentrations compared to male CF patients, and male healthy individuals showed lower leptin levels than female healthy participants. Aside from the fact that serum/plasma leptin appeared to be favorably linked to fat mass and BMI, the findings in this study also indicated that serum/plasma concentrations were not associated with Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (FEV1). No statistically significant differences were observed in the leptin and leptin receptor mRNA expression levels between the healthy controls and CF patients. The leptin receptor and leptin expression levels in alveolar lavage fluid were low in various cells, without any distinctive distribution patterns.

CONCLUSIONS

The current meta-analysis indicated the absence of significant differences in leptin levels between CF patients and healthy individuals. Gender, fat mass, and BMI may all be correlated with leptin concentrations.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42022380118.

Serum kisspeptin and proopiomelanocortin in cystic fibrosis: a single study

The determination of hormonal biomarkers is of increasing interest in many diseases, including cystic fibrosis (CF). Hormones that have not been estimated and described so far in CF include kisspeptin (KISS) and proopiomelanocortin (POMC), which are involved in the regulation of many processes, including appetite and fertility. Therefore, the aim of our study was to estimate the level of KISS and POMC in sera from CF patients and to determine the correlation between these hormones and clinical parameters. For this purpose, we estimated the levels of KISS and POMC in 38 CF patients and 16 healthy participants with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We found significantly reduced levels of KISS and POMC in people with CF compared to healthy subjects (1.76 ± 0.46 vs. 2.27 ± 0.56 ng/mL, p < 0.05 and 6.25 ± 4.36 vs. 14.74 ± 6.24 ng/mL, p < 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, the level of both hormones was negatively correlated with age. The hormones studied did not correlate with the results of spirometry and each other. Thus, decreased KISS and POMC levels may be associated with lower body weight and delayed puberty in patients with CF.

Serum leptin and neuropeptide Y in patients with cystic fibrosis—A single center study

Along with the significant elongation in the average life expectancy of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), there are still significant discrepancies in the height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) of patients compared to controls without CF. The correlation between hormones that regulate appetite and body fat mass may be an additional factor in weight loss or poor weight gain in CF patients. Our objective was to estimate serum concentrations of leptin and neuropeptide Y in patients with CF as well as to assess correlations between studied hormones and the clinical parameters of CF. Leptin and neuropeptide Y serum concentrations after an overnight fast were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. All study participants had anthropometric tests and spirometry. In addition, fasting serum lipid profile was also analyzed. Fasting leptin levels in CF were significantly higher in patients with CF patients (13.9 ± 6.9 vs. 6.5 ± 2.6 ng/mL, p &lt; 0.001) compared to controls. There were no differences in leptin concentration between female and male CF participants (15.7 ± 7.8 vs. 12.2 ± 5.6 ng/mL, p = 0.13). Leptin was correlated with age (R = 0.64, p &lt; 0.001), BMI (R = 0.65, p &lt; 0.001), spirometry results (R = −0.49, p &lt; 0.01), and body fat (R = 0.5, p &lt; 0.05). There were no differences in neuropeptide Y concentration between participants with CF and controls as well as neuropeptide Y was not correlated with any studied parameters. The results of our study suggest that weight loss may be associated with a decreased level of leptin, while reduced pulmonary function in CF may be related to an elevated level of leptin.