Circulating obestatin level in diabetic and obese rats

Abstract

BackgroundObestatin has been discovered as a product of the ghrelin gene. Its physiological actions are still a matter of debate. It is likely to be involved in the control of adipocyte function. It has been already shown that obestatin secretion is negatively modulated by food intake.AimIn this study, we investigated plasma obestatin level in diabetic and obese rats and studied the correlation of this hormone with glucose, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, BMI, triglycerides, and total cholesterol in these two metabolic disorders.Materials and methodsA total of 30 male albino rats were divided into three groups: the control group, the diabetic group, and the obese group. Plasma obestatin levels were measured and plasma glucose, insulin, triglyceride, total cholesterol, and BMI were also evaluated.ResultsDiabetic rats showed significant increase in all studied parameters except plasma obestatin, insulin, and BMI, which showed significant decrease as compared with the control group. However, the results of obese rats showed significant increase in all studied parameters except plasma obestatin, which showed significant decrease compared with either control or diabetic rats, but plasma glucose was significantly decreased as compared with diabetic rats only and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance was significantly increased as compared with control rats. The results revealed that plasma obestatin was negatively correlated with all studied parameters in both diabetic and obese rats and positively correlated with insulin in diabetic rats, whereas it had insignificant correlation with BMI in diabetic rats and with insulin in the obese group.ConclusionThe decrease in obestatin levels was associated with metabolic disorders and this may contribute, in part, to the pathophysiology of diabetes and obesity.