Abstract
BackgroundFurin has been associated with glucose metabolic phenotypes in small sampled clinical studies. However, this association has not yet been studied in Chinese. Here, we aimed to examine the association between serum furin and fasting glucose in Chinese adults.MethodsSerum furin and fasting plasma glucose were assayed for 2,172 participants (mean aged 53 years, 38% men) in the Gusu cohort. A median regression model was applied to examine the association between serum furin and fasting glucose, adjusting for age, sex, education level, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, obesity, blood pressure, and lipids. To facilitate data interpretation, the association between serum furin and prevalent diabetes was also examined.ResultsSerum furin was negatively associated with fasting glucose (β=-0.18, P<0.001 for log-furin). In participants with diabetes, serum furin was significantly lower than those with normal glucose (median: 0.90 ng/mL vs. 1.05 ng/mL, P=0.001). Compared with participants in the highest quartile of serum furin, those in the lowest quartile had 42% and 80% increased risk of prevalent prediabetes (OR=1.42, 95%CI: 1.05-1.92, P=0.023) and diabetes (OR=1.80, 95%CI: 1.13-2.91, P=0.015), respectively.ConclusionsSerum furin was negatively associated with prediabetes and diabetes in Chinese adults. Our findings suggest that serum furin may be a risk factor or a biomarker of diabetes.
Highlights
Furin, ubiquitously expressed in all mammalian tissues and cells, is a member of the proprotein convertase subtilisin/Kexin (PCSK) family [1]
These findings suggest a potential role of furin in glucose metabolism
In Chinese adults, we previously found that serum furin was associated with obesity [14] and hypertension [15]
Summary
Ubiquitously expressed in all mammalian tissues and cells, is a member of the proprotein convertase subtilisin/Kexin (PCSK) family [1]. Polymorphisms in the FURIN gene have been associated with metabolic syndrome [7], hypertension [8], and coronary artery disease [9]. The levels of furin in the circulation have been associated with diabetes [10] and some relative phenotypes, such as obesity [11], metabolic syndrome [12], and diabetic cardiovascular disease [13]. These results were largely derived from populations with European ancestry. We aimed to examine the association between serum furin and fasting glucose in Chinese adults
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