Increased urocortin 3 levels are associated with the risk of having type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND

Urocortin 3 (UCN3) is a peptide hormone playing a pivotal role in glucose and lipid metabolisms. However, its clinical implications remain unclear. Our aims were to investigate the altered levels of UCN3 in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (nT2DM) patients in comparison to subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and to determine the presence of any possible link between UCN3 levels and metabolic parameters.

METHODS

Eighty nT2DM and 80 age-, body mass index (BMI)-, and gender-matched NGT subjects were enrolled into this case-control study. The circulating UCN3 levels were measured using the enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA). Metabolic parameters of enrolled subjects were also determined. A standard 75-g 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test was used for diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

RESULTS

UCN3 levels were higher in subjects with nT2DM than in controls (115.64 ± 39.26 vs 86.16 ± 22.81 pg/mL, P < .001). UCN3 levels were increased in subjects with metabolic syndrome compared to subjects without metabolic syndrome in both nT2DM and NGT groups. UCN3 levels showed a positive correlation with BMI in both groups. Moreover, UCN3 levels were positively and independently associated with insulin, fasting blood glucose, insulin resistance, 2-hour plasma glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, and triglycerides, whereas UCN3 levels were negatively and independently associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. According to logistic regression analysis, increased risk of T2DM and metabolic syndrome were parallel with the highest elevated levels of UCN3.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased levels of UCN3 are associated with unfavorable metabolic profiles in T2DM, indicating a potential role of UCN3 in glucose and lipid metabolisms in T2DM.