Background: Previous studies have reported that glypican-4 (GPC4) regulates insulin signaling by interacting with insulin receptor and through adipocyte differentiation. However, GPC4 has not been studied with regard to its effects on clinical factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We aimed to identify factors associated with GPC4 level in T2DM.
Methods: Between January 2010 and December 2013, we selected 152 subjects with T2DM and collected serum and plasma into tubes pretreated with aprotinin and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor to preserve active gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). GPC4, active GLP-1, active GIP, and other factors were measured in these plasma samples. We performed a linear regression analysis to identify factors associated with GPC4 level.
Results: The subjects had a mean age of 58.1 years, were mildly obese (mean body mass index [BMI], 26.1 kg/m²), had T2DM of long-duration (mean, 101.3 months), glycated hemoglobin 7.5%, low insulin secretion, and low insulin resistance (mean homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance [HOMA-IR], 1.2). Their mean GPC4 was 2.0±0.2 ng/mL. In multivariate analysis, GPC4 was independently associated with age (β=0.224, P=0.009), and levels of active GLP-1 (β=0.171, P=0.049) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST; β=-0.176, P=0.043) after being adjusted for other clinical factors.
Conclusion: GPC4 was independently associated with age, active GLP-1, and AST in T2DM patients, but was not associated with HOMA-IR and BMI, which are well known factors related to GPC4. Further study is needed to identify the mechanisms of the association between GPC4 and basal active GLP-1 levels.
Keywords: Active glucagon-like peptide 1; Diabetes mellitus; Glypicans.