Circulating Palmitoleate strongly and independently predicts Insulin Sensitivity in Humans
- Norbert Stefan, MD (norbert.stefan{at}med.uni-tuebingen.de)1,
- Konstantinos Kantartzis, MD1,
- Nora Celebi, MD1,
- Harald Staiger, PhD1,
- Jürgen Machann, PhD2,
- Fritz Schick, MD, PhD2,
- Alexander Cegan, PhD3,
- Michaela Elcnerova, PhD3,
- Erwin Schleicher, PhD1,
- Andreas Fritsche, MD1 and
- Hans-Ulrich Häring, MD1
- 1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetology, Vascular Medicine, Nephrology and Clinical Chemistry, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- 2Section on Experimental Radiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- 3Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Pardubice, Pardubice, Czech Republic
Abstract
Objective- We investigated whether palmitoleate, which prevents from insulin resistance in mice, predicts insulin sensitivity (IS) in humans.
Design and Methods- The fasting fatty acid pattern in the plasma FFA fraction was determined in 100 subjects at increased risk for type 2 diabetes. IS was estimated during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at baseline and after 9 months of lifestyle intervention and measured during the euglycemic, hyperinsulinemic clamp (n=79).
Results- Circulating palmitoleate (OGTT:F-Ratio=8.2, p=0.005; clamp:F-Ratio=7.8, p=0.007) but not total FFAs (OGTT:F-Ratio=0.6, p=0.42; clamp:F-Ratio=0.7, p=0.40) correlated positively with IS, independently of age, gender and adiposity. High baseline palmitoleate predicted larger increase in IS. For 1 standard deviation increase in palmitoleate the odds ratio for being in the highest vs the lowest tertile of adjusted change in IS was 2.35 (95%-CI, 1.16-5.35).
Conclusions- Circulating palmitoleate strongly and independently predicts IS, suggesting that it plays an important role in the pathophysiology of insulin resistance in humans.
Footnotes
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- Received March 19, 2009.
- Accepted October 27, 2009.
- Copyright © American Diabetes Association
