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A study on serum pro-neurotensin (PNT), furin, and zinc alpha-2-glycoprotein (ZAG) levels in patients with acromegaly

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Abstract

Purpose

Acromegaly caused by growth hormone cell adenoma is commonly associated with abnormal glucolipid metabolism, which may result from changes in adipocytokine secretion. This study aims to investigate serum adipokine levels, including pro-neurotensin (PNT), furin, and zinc alpha-2-glycoprotein (ZAG), in acromegalic patients and the correlation between the levels of these three adipokines and GH levels and glucolipid metabolism indices.

Methods

Sixty-eight acromegalic patients and 121 controls were included, and their clinical data were recorded from electronic medical record system. Serum PNT, furin and ZAG levels were measured by ELISA.

Results

Serum PNT levels in acromegalic patients were significantly higher than controls (66.60 ± 12.36 vs. 46.68 ± 20.54 pg/ml, P < 0.001), and acromegaly was an independent influencing factor of PNT levels (P < 0.001). Moreover, subjects with the highest tertile of PNT levels had a close correlation with acromegaly (OR = 22.200, 95% CI 7.156 ~ 68.875, P < 0.001), even in Model 1 adjusted for gender and age and Model 2 adjusted for gender, age and BMI. Additionally, serum PNT levels were positively correlated with BMI (r = 0.220, P = 0.002) and triglycerides (TGs, r = 0.295, P < 0.001), and TGs were an independent influencing factor of serum PNT levels in acromegalic subjects (P < 0.001). Furthermore, serum PNT levels in obese acromegalic patients were significantly higher than those with normal BMI (P < 0.05). However, serum furin levels were lower in acromegalic patients than controls (0.184 ± 0.036 vs. 0.204 ± 0.061 ng/ml, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

This study is the first to demonstrate that acromegalic patients have increased serum PNT levels. Moreover, serum PNT plays a potential role in abnormal lipid metabolism of acromegalic patients.

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Data availability

The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the staff of Clinical Biobank, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences for their hard work in sample storage.

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (CIFMS, 2021-I2M-1–003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Endocrinology of National Health Commission, Department of Endocrinology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, 100730, China

    X. Ke, L. Duan, F. Gong, L. Wang, H. Pan & H. Zhu

  2. Central Research Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, 100730, China

    Y. Zhang

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, 100730, China

    K. Deng, Y. Yao & B. Xing

  4. Department of Radiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, 100730, China

    F. Feng

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  1. X. Ke
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Correspondence to H. Zhu.

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The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (ethics code: JS-1663). The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Ke, X., Duan, L., Gong, F. et al. A study on serum pro-neurotensin (PNT), furin, and zinc alpha-2-glycoprotein (ZAG) levels in patients with acromegaly. J Endocrinol Invest 45, 1945–1954 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-022-01827-1

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