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Spexin status in relation to obesity and its related comorbidities: a systematic review

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Abstract

Purpose

Spexin, a novel 14-amino acid peptide, has multiple physiological functions. The purpose of this paper was to systematically evaluate the current literature on the role of Spexin neuropeptide in obesity and its related comorbidities, food intake and overall metabolic status in human, animal and in vitro studies.

Methods

Multiple databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, ProQuest, Scopus and Google Scholar were searched for English-language papers published since inception until December 2018, that investigated Spexin levels in relation to chronic metabolic diseases, overall metabolism control and feeding-related behaviors.The quality of the included observational studies was assessed by a version of the Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) designed for non-randomized studies and SYRCLE’s assessment tool for animal models.

Results

Out of 224 records screened, search results led to a total of 24 related studies (12 human studies (ten cross-sectional studies, one cohort study, and one longitudinal study) and 12 studies in either animals or in vitro).Nine of the included cross-sectional studies and one Longitudinal study had moderate to good study quality, and one cross-sectional and one cohort study had high-quality (or low risk of bias).

Conclusion

It appears that Spexin has a positive impact on overall metabolic status. As a novel appetite-regulating peptide, Spexin can act as an anorexigenic factor. Information about Spexin is very limited, and well-designed randomized controlled clinical trials are warranted for replicating, validating, and extending the current findings.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42018117198).

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Acknowledgments

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Student Research Committee, School of Nutrition & Food Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Maryam Behrooz & Vahid Maleki

  2. Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran

    Maryam Behrooz

  3. Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI), Department of Paediatrics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    Elnaz Vaghef-Mehrabany

  4. Department of Community Nutrition, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Samira Pourmoradian

  5. Health Information Management, School of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Zahra Fathifar

  6. Nutrition Research Center, Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutrition & Food Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Attar Neyshabouri Av., Golgasht St., Tabriz, Iran

    Alireza Ostadrahimi

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  1. Maryam Behrooz
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Contributions

Conceived and designed the systematic review: MB,AO.

Systematic literature search: ZF, MB.

Screened the titles and abstracts of the retrieved articles: VM,SP,EV.

Quality assessment and data extraction: MB,VM,AO.

Wrote the paper: All of authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alireza Ostadrahimi.

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Behrooz, M., Vaghef-Mehrabany, E., Maleki, V. et al. Spexin status in relation to obesity and its related comorbidities: a systematic review. J Diabetes Metab Disord 19, 1943–1957 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40200-020-00636-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40200-020-00636-8

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