title: Correlation between blood activin levels and clinical parameters of type 2 diabetes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Activins A and B, and their binding protein, follistatin, regulate glucose metabolism and inflammation. Consequently, their role in type 2 diabetes (T2D) was examined.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood was taken from fasted participants (34 males; 58 females; 50-75 years) with diabetes or during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Clinical parameters were assessed, and blood assayed for activins, follistatin, and C-reactive protein.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum levels of activin A (93.3 ± 27.0 pg/mL, mean ± SD), B (81.8 ± 30.8 pg/mL), or follistatin (6.52 ± 3.15 ng/mL) were not different (P > 0.05) between subjects with normal OGTT (n = 39), impaired glucose tolerance and/or fasting glucose (n = 17), or T2D (n = 36). However, activin A and/or activin B were positively correlated with parameters of insulin resistance and T2D, including fasting glucose (P < 0.001), fasting insulin (P = 0.02), glycated hemoglobin (P = 0.003), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR; P < 0.001). Follistatin was positively correlated with HOMA-IR alone (P = 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data indicate that serum measurements of activin A, B, or follistatin cannot discriminate risk for T2D in individual patients, but the activins display a positive relationship with clinical parameters of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Monash Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia. hui.wu@monash.edu
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Carolyn A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Allan
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Mark P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Hedger
mesh_terms: D028341:Activins / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005215:Fasting / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D038681:Follistatin / Q000097:blood*; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D028341:Activins; D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D038681:Follistatin; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; D007328:Insulin; C503233:FST protein, human; C422405:activin A; C044147:activin B; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human