Serum levels of Vanin-2 increase with obesity in relation to inflammation of adipose tissue and may be a predictor of bariatric surgery outcomes

Shan Geng; Dongmei Chen; Yanping Wang; Xingrui Yu; Dan Zuo; Xinlu Lv; Xuelian Zhou; Chengju Hu; Xuesong Yang; Xujue Ma; Wenjing Hu; Jiazhuang Xi; Shaohong Yu

doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1270435

Serum levels of Vanin-2 increase with obesity in relation to inflammation of adipose tissue and may be a predictor of bariatric surgery outcomes

Front Nutr. 2023 Dec 14:10:1270435. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1270435. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Shan Geng^#^{1

2}, Dongmei Chen^#³, Yanping Wang^#¹, Xingrui Yu⁴, Dan Zuo⁵, Xinlu Lv⁶, Xuelian Zhou¹, Chengju Hu¹, Xuesong Yang⁷, Xujue Ma⁸, Wenjing Hu⁵, Jiazhuang Xi¹, Shaohong Yu⁷

Affiliations

¹ The Affiliated Dazu Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Ultrasound in Medicine and Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
³ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The Affiliated Dazu Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁴ Institute of Information, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
⁵ Department of Clinical Nutrition, The Affiliated Dazu Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁶ Department of Endocrinology, The Affiliated Dazu Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁷ Department of General Surgery, The Affiliated Dazu Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁸ Department of Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College, Chongqing, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Objective: Excessive obesity can lead to dysfunction in adipose tissue, which contributes to the development of comorbidities associated with obesity, such as type 2 diabetes (T2D), cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, among others. Previous research has mainly focused on the Vanin family in systemic inflammatory diseases or predicting its role in tumor prognosis, while neglecting its role as a secretory protein in adipose tissue inflammation and metabolism. The objective of this study was to compare the changes in Vanin-2 levels in the circulating blood of normal and obese individuals, and to assess its correlation with inflammatory factors in vivo. Furthermore, the study aimed to systematically evaluate its effectiveness in human weight loss surgery.

Methods: Serum concentrations of Vanin-2 and inflammatory indicators were measured in 518 volunteers. Furthermore, the concentrations of Vanin-2 were measured both before and after weight loss through a dietetic program or laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). Additionally, we assessed the levels of insulin, adiponectin, and inflammation-related factors. The hormonal profile and changes in body weight were evaluated at baseline and 3 months after surgery.

Results: Serum levels of Vanin-2 were found to be significantly increased in individuals with overweight/obesity (OW/OB) group (controls 438.98 ± 72.44, OW/OB 530.89 ± 79.39 ug/L; p < 0.001). These increased levels were associated with IL-18, BMI, FAT%, and HOMA-IR. However, levels of Vanin-2 remained unchanged after conventional dietary treatment. On the other hand, weight loss induced by LSG resulted in a significant decrease in Vanin-2 concentrations from 586.44 ± 48.84 to 477.67 ± 30.27 ug/L (p < 0.001), and this decrease was associated with the Vanin-2 concentrations observed before the operation.

Conclusion: Serum Vanin-2 is a highly effective biomarker for assessing adipose tissue inflammation in obesity and has the potential to serve as a predictor of bariatric surgery outcomes.

Keywords: Vanin-2; adipokines; inflammation; laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy; obesity.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the grants from the 2023 Municipal Education Commission Science (KJQN202300460), Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (No. 2020M683263), Natural Science Foundation Project of Chongqing, Chongqing Science and Technology Commission (cstc2021jcyj-msxmX0353), Technology Research Youth Project of Chongqing and Chongqing Middle and Young Medical High and Talent Project.