Share:
Increased Afamin Concentration Better early warning system for Type II diabetes discovered
Diabetes is an extremely widespread disease that endangers the health of those affected in many ways. Unfortunately, the metabolic disease is often recognized late. Austrian researchers have now established a clear link between the glycoprotein afamin and type 2 diabetes. The new findings could help to develop an early warning system for this disease.
More and more diabetics
According to the latest figures, almost every second clinic patient in Germany has diabetes or prediabetes. In other countries, the metabolic disease is increasing more and more. Often, however, it is discovered late. Austrian researchers have now discovered that an increased concentration of the glycoprotein Afamin is associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. These findings can further improve preparedness.
Austrian researchers have found that an increased concentration of the glycoprotein Afamin is associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. (Image: 6okean / fotolia.com) Clear link between Afamin and type 2 diabetes
A team led by the researcher Florian Kronenberg from the Medical University of Innsbruck has succeeded in establishing a clear link between Afamin and type 2 diabetes by means of extensive measurements in well-characterized individuals from several prospective cohort studies.
Also, the compound of Afamin with prediabetes and insulin resistance could be detected.
This sheds light on an important functional area of this still relatively unknown multifunctional glycoprotein and underpins its role as a biomarker of type 2 diabetes, according to a statement from the university.
Regardless of known risk parameters
The findings just published in the journal "Diabetes Care" are based on Afamin measurements carried out directly in Innsbruck and the analysis of data from a total of eight prospective cohort studies as part of an international cooperation.
"Long before the onset of type 2 diabetes, elevated levels of Afamin can be found in the blood. A person whose Afamin concentration is 10 mg / L higher than a comparable person has a 30 percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes over the following years, "says lead author Barbara Kollerits.
"The remarkable thing is that this prediction is next to the age and gender, and independent of known risk parameters such as HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, body mass index, hypertension, a familial accumulation of diabetes cases, but above all, an increased glucose concentration." , so the scientist.
"These results can be considered clinically very significant, as they also contribute to a more accurate classification in risk classes."
Overexpression of Afamin causes increase in body weight
The cornerstone of the Afamin research work in Innsbruck was originally laid by Hans Dieplinger, who has been targeting the protein Afamin for more than 25 years using a variety of research approaches.
"With a transgenic mouse model, we were able to show earlier," said Dieplinger, "that overexpression of afamin leads to an increase in body weight and lipids and blood sugar."
With a detection method developed at the section to measure the Afamin concentration and a meta-analysis in several large epidemiological studies, the relationship between an increased Afamin concentration and the metabolic syndrome could eventually be confirmed in humans.
Predict the development of diabetes
The search for biomarkers that can predict the future development of type 2 diabetes in an individual is now a field of intense research.
Over the years, numerous biomarkers have been described in small studies, but subsequently were often not confirmed.
The Austrian researchers are avoiding this deficit by analyzing and comparing large population-based studies and the resulting meta-analyzes, as well as technologically high-quality laboratory equipment, which offers a particular advantage for the rapid processing of very large data sets.
Finally, with the compilation of data from more than 20,000 people from eight prospective epidemiological studies and the related afamin measurements carried out in Innsbruck, sufficiently usable biomaterial was available.
"From this large cross-section of the population and the subsequent follow-up observations, we were finally able to achieve a replicable and valid result that clearly demonstrates the relationship between increased Afamin concentrations and the occurrence of type 2 diabetes and qualifies them for risk assessment," says Kronenberg far-reaching knowledge, which against the background of the worldwide increasing diabetes prevalence could also have special significance for an improved prognosis of this disease.
The results of the Innsbruck team are certainly a promising basis for Afamin's future research. (Ad)