Effects of the long-acting human glucagon-like peptide-1 analog liraglutide on plasma omentin-1 levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE

Omentin is a protein expressed and secreted from visceral but not subcutaneous adipose tissue, which increases insulin sensitivity in human adipocytes. However, its pathophysiologic role in humans remains largely unknown. The objective of this study is to assess plasma omentin-1 levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and matched control subjects and to investigate the effects of liraglutide on plasma omentin-1 levels in patients with T2DM.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Thirty T2DM patients with poor glycemic control after more than 3 months of treatment with one or two OHA(s) (T2DM), and 30 matched normal glycaemic controls (NGT) participated in the study. The T2DM group was given an injection of liraglutide once-daily for 16 weeks. Plasma omentin-1 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the relationship between plasma omentin-1 levels and metabolic parameters was also analyzed.

RESULTS

Plasma omentin-1 levels were lower in T2DM than in the control (19.3 ± 4.0 μg/L vs. 26.4 ± 6.0 μg/L, P < 0.01). Plasma omentin-1 levels increased significantly in T2DM patients after treatment with liraglutide compared with pre-treatment (19.3 ± 4.0 μg/L vs. 21.2 ± 3. 9 μg/L, P < 0.01). In all diabetic patients, multiple regression analysis showed that FINS and HOMA-IR were independently associated with plasma omentin-1 levels.

CONCLUSIONS

In T2DM patients, plasma omentin-1 levels decreased, but significantly increased after the treatment with liraglutide and metformin. These data suggest that liraglutide may play a role in increasing omentin-1 levels in T2DM patients.