The circulating levels of CTRP5 and the ratio of CTRP1 to CTRP5 plasma levels are significant predictors for cIMT value in patients with type 2 diabetes: A case-control study

Background: There is growing evidence that the C1qTNF-related protein (CTRP) family has a crucial role in the physiology and pathophysiology of metabolic disorders such as Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and obesity. We sought to identify the association of CTRP1 and CTRP5 circulating levels with various obesity parameters such as visceral adipose tissue (VAT) thickness, visceral adiposity index (VAI), and with carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in patients with T2D and healthy subjects. Methods: This case-control study recruited subjects with T2D patients (n=42) as case group (all men) and without T2D (n=42) as controls (all men). cIMT and VAT thickness measurement was performed using an Accuvix XQ ultrasound. Circulating CTRP1 and CTRP5 concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: CTRP-1 and CTRP1/CTRP5 ratio were markedly higher in patients with T2D compared to controls (p < 0001 and p = 0004 respectively). Interestingly, binominal logistic regression revealed that a higher circulating level of CTRP1 was associated with the presence of T2D (odds ratio [OR]: 13203.554 [95% CI: 65.186-2674407.708]; P=.000). When considering the study population as a whole, CTRP1 circulating levels were correlated with WHR, VAT, and HOMA-IR. Also, we observed that the ratio of CTRP1 to CTRP5 plasma levels (β = 0.648, P=0.005) and CTRP5 circulating levels (β = 0.444, P=0.049) are significant predictors for cIMT value. Conclusions: Our results indicated that CTRP1 and CTRP5 concentrations were correlated with atherosclerosis in human subjects and these adipokines might have a causal role for cardiometabolic risk in type 2 diabetes disease