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Association of Retinol-Binding Protein-4 (RBP4) with Lipid Parameters in Obese Women

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Abstract

Background

Although the adipokine retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP4) has been implicated in the development of obesity-related insulin resistance, its role in human obesity is still unclear. Our objectives were to find out the effect on RBP4 systemic levels of a weight loss induced by gastric bypass surgery and to analyze RBP4 relationships with insulin resistance, parameters of body composition, lipid metabolism, and inflammation.

Methods

Sixty-three obese women were analyzed before and 12 months after surgery of systemic concentrations of RBP4, fasting glucose, insulin, lipid profile molecules, and inflammation-related proteins (C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-alpha receptors 1 and 2, interleukin-18, and adiponectin), and waist and hip circumference measurements, body mass index calculation, and insulin resistance index by homeostasis model assessment were also made.

Results

We found that RBP4 levels were lower after weight reduction by gastric bypass surgery (p < 0.0001). We found RBP4 associated with triglycerides before (β = 0.37, p = 0.02) and after surgery (β = 0.59, p < 0.0001) and negatively with weight loss after surgery (β = −0.37, p = 0.003). When expressed as a percentage of change, the decrease of RBP4 was related to the reduction in the levels of triglycerides and with the increase in HDL-cholesterol (β = 0.73, p = 0.02 and β = 0.62, p = 0.04, respectively). Others parameters analyzed, including inflammatory markers, were not related to RBP4.

Conclusions

This study shows that, in obese women and after a substantial weight loss due to bariatric surgery, RBP4 was related to weight status and lipid parameters rather than to insulin sensitivity or inflammatory markers.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all the women who participated in the study. This work was supported by research grants SAF2005-00413 and SAF2008-02278 (both to C.R.) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (co-financed by FEDER) and by the “Fundación Biociencia”.

Conflict of interest statement

All the authors declare that they have no commercial conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIBER (CB06/03) Fisiopatologia de la Obesidad y Nutrición, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain

    Montserrat Broch, Ma Teresa Auguet & Cristóbal Richart

  2. Endocrinology and Diabetes Unit, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain

    José Manuel Gómez, Nuria Vilarrasa & Iñaki Elio

  3. Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitari de Tarragona Joan XXIII, Tarragona, Spain

    Ma Teresa Auguet & Cristóbal Richart

  4. Hormonal Laboratory, Hospital Universitari de Tarragona Joan XXIII, Tarragona, Spain

    Rosa Pastor

  5. Epidemiology and Statistics, Hospital Universitari de Tarragona Joan XXIII, Tarragona, Spain

    Montserrat Olona

  6. Institut d’Investigació Sanitaria Pere Virgili, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain

    Montserrat Broch, Ma Teresa Auguet, Antonio García-España & Cristóbal Richart

  7. Research Unit, Hospital Universitari de Tarragona Joan XXIII, C/ Dr. Mallafré Guasch s/n, 43007, Tarragona, Spain

    Montserrat Broch

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  1. Montserrat Broch
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Correspondence to Montserrat Broch.

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Broch, M., Gómez, J.M., Auguet, M.T. et al. Association of Retinol-Binding Protein-4 (RBP4) with Lipid Parameters in Obese Women. OBES SURG 20, 1258–1264 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-010-0200-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-010-0200-5

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