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For the first time abnormal proteins from buttock fat linked to metabolic syndrome
People who are "apple-shaped" -- with fat more
concentrated around the abdomen -- have long been considered more at risk for
conditions such as heart disease and diabetes than those who are
"pear-shaped" and carry weight more in the buttocks, hips and thighs.
But new research conducted at UC Davis Health System provides
further evidence that the protective benefits of having a pear-body shape may
be more myth than reality.
The study found that fat stored in the buttock area -- also
known as gluteal adipose tissue -- secretes abnormal levels of chemerin and
omentin-1, proteins that can lead to inflammation and a prediabetic condition
know as insulin resistance in individuals with early metabolic syndrome.
"Fat in the abdomen has long been considered the most
detrimental to health, and gluteal fat was thought to protect against diabetes,
heart disease and metabolic syndrome," said Ishwarlal Jialal, lead author
of the study and a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and of
internal medicine at UC Davis. "But our research helps to dispel the myth
that gluteal fat is 'innocent.' It also suggests that abnormal protein levels
may be an early indicator to identify those at risk for developing metabolic
syndrome."
The UC Davis team found that in individuals with early metabolic
syndrome, gluteal fat secreted elevated levels of chemerin and low levels of
omentin-1 -- proteins that correlate with other factors known to increase the
risk for heart disease and diabetes. High chemerin levels, for example,
correlated with high blood pressure, elevated levels of C-reactive protein (a
sign of inflammation) and triglycerides, insulin resistance, and low levels of
HDL cholesterol. Low omentin-1 levels correlated with high levels of
triglycerides and blood glucose levels and low levels of HDL cholesterol.
The abnormal levels of these two proteins were also
independent of age, body mass index and waist circumference.
"High chemerin levels correlated with four of the five
characteristics of metabolic syndrome and may be a promising biomarker for
metabolic syndrome," said Jialal. "As it's also an indicator of
inflammation and insulin resistance, it could also emerge as part of a
biomarker panel to define high-risk obesity states. The good news is that with
weight loss, you can reduce chemerin levels along with the risk for metabolic
syndrome."
"Future large epidemiological studies should focus on
evaluating the role of chemerin as a biomarker for the development of diabetes
and cardiovascular disease in metabolic syndrome," Jialal said.
###
The above story is January 10, 2013
reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Davis Health
System.
January 9, 2013 in the Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology & Metabolism:
Jialal
I, Devaraj S, Kaur H, Adams-Huet B, Bremer AA. Increased Chemerin and
Decreased Omentin-1 in Both Adipose Tissue and Plasma in Nascent Metabolic
Syndrome. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.,
2013; DOI: 10.1210/jc.2012-3673
Metabolic syndrome
refers to a group of risk factors that occur together, doubling the risk for
heart disease and increasing the risk for diabetes at least five-fold. Risk
factors include having a large waistline, low levels of high-density
lipoproteins (HDL), or "good" cholesterol, high blood pressure as
well as high fasting blood sugar ( insulin resistance) and high triglyceride
levels. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, metabolic
syndrome affects 35 percent of American adults over age 20.
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