Abstract 336: Increased Circulating Betatrophin Concentrations in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease

Abstract

Objective: Betatrophin has recently been described as a key hormone to stimulate beta-cell mass expansion in response to insulin resistance and obesity in mice. It is reported that betatrophin can regulate the plasma levels of triglyceride. Triglyceride elevations are a highly significant independent risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, the circulating levels of betatrophin in patients with CHD are not known. This study measured serum betatrophin levels in patients with CHD and explored the correlations between its serum levels and various parameters in CHD. Methods and Results: We analyzed the concentrations of betatrophin by ELISA in blood samples of 40 diagnosed patients with CHD by coronary angiography and 40 health controls. Routine anthropometric and serologic data were collected. Serum betatrophin, fasting glucose, lipid protein profiles, homocysteine and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were measured. Serum betatrophin levels were significantly higher in CHD patients than in healthy control subjects (569.09 (444.52-798.85) versus 410.46 (339.02-526.41) pg/ml; p < 0.01). Importantly, serum betatrophin associated positively with the severity of coronary branch luminal narrowings (R = 0.304, p <0.05), homocysteine (R = 0.278, p <0.01) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (R = 0.179, p <0.05) in CHD patients, whereas there was no significant connection with blood lipids and glucose. In CHD subjects, multivariate regression analyses showed that the homocysteine was independent factors influencing serum betatrophin levels. Conclusions: Serum betatrophin levels are significantly increased and associated positively with the severity of coronary branch luminal narrowings in patients with CHD. Our results suggest that betatrophin may play a role in the pathogenesis of CHD.