Study of Serum Spexin Level in Obese and Non-Obese type 2 Diabetic Patient

Background: Spexin is a peptide, which is discovered as an important regulatory adipokine in obesity, insulin resistance (IR), and diabetes. Aim: To evaluate serum Spexin levels in type-2 diabetic obese patients in comparison to its levels in non-obese diabetic (NOD) and to assess its relationship to IR and glycemic control. Patients and methods: A total of 20 NOD (group 1), 22obese non-diabetic (OND) (group 2), and 24obese diabetic patients (OD) (group 3), with an average age of 43.8±8.9, 49±8.8, 45.1±11.6 years respectively, and 20 age and sex-matched healthy participants (control group) were included. Height and weight were measured using standard techniques. Glucose levels, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), fasting insulin (FI), calculation of Homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and Spexin levels were measured in each patient. Results: The median serum Spexin levels were significantly lower in the OD than in the other groups and lower in the NOD and OND than in the non-obese non-diabetic (NOND)(p <0.001). Spexin level at a cutoff value ≤ 0.70 can significantly discriminate OD from NOND. Spexin levels were negatively correlated with age, body mass index (BMI), LDL-C, TG, FI, and HOMA-IR. Conclusion: Spexin plays an important role in glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism. The presence of diabetes is associated with lower Spexin levels. Further investigations and additional studies in larger populations are required to understand the exact function of this peptide and to validate the observations in the current study.