Association of circulating neuregulin 4 with metabolic syndrome in obese adults: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Neuregulin 4 (Nrg4) is a secreted adipokine recently identified as playing an important role in modulating systemic energy metabolism and the development of obesity-associated disorders. However, information is not available regarding the association between circulating Nrg4 and risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in humans.

Methods: We measured serum Nrg4 in 1212 obese adult subjects (aged 40 years or older), with a waist circumference greater than 90 cm for men or 80 cm for women, recruited from the community.

Results: MetS subjects had lower levels of circulating Nrg4 than healthy controls (P < 0.01). The prevalence of MetS was higher in subjects with lower levels of circulating Nrg4 compared to those with higher values (67.3 % vs. 57.4 %, P < 0.05). Likewise, subjects with low levels of circulating Nrg4 had high prevalence of raised fasting glucose and blood pressure, but there was no association with raised triglycerides and reduced HDL-c. In multivariable logistic regression analyses, increased serum Nrg4 was significantly associated with reduced risk of MetS (OR: 0.603; 95 % CI, 0.439-0.828; P = 0.002), adjusting for age, gender, current smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, BMI, systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, triglyceride, HDL-c, HOMA-IR, and body fat mass; however, such associations with serum Nrg4 were not noted for each component of MetS.

Conclusions: These findings indicate that circulating Nrg4 concentrations are inversely associated with risk of MetS in obese Chinese adults, suggesting that circulating Nrg4 concentrations may be a protective factor in the development of MetS.

Keywords: Body fat mass; Metabolic syndrome; Neuregulin 4; Obesity.

Fig. 1

Serum neuregulin 4 (Nrg4) levels according to components of metabolic syndrome (MetS). a Serum Nrg4 levels by presence of MetS. b Serum Nrg4 levels by presence of raised fasting glucose. c Serum Nrg4 levels by presence of raised blood pressure. d Serum Nrg4 levels by presence of raised triglycerides or reduced HDL-cholesterol. e Serum Nrg4 levels by presence of overweight/obesity; *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; BMI, body mass index