title: Elevated plasma fractalkine levels are associated with higher levels of IL-6, Apo-B, LDL-C and insulin, but not with body composition in a large female twin sample.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Plasma fractalkine (FRACT) is involved in the development of numerous inflammatory conditions including atherosclerosis. It is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus and adipose inflammation. However, whether FRACT is associated with major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, in particular obesity, metabolic syndrome and blood lipids, is virtually unknown.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included a large community-based sample of 3306 middle-aged women drawn from the general UK population. Blood samples were analyzed for circulating levels of FRACT, leptin, insulin, glucose, LDL-C, HDL-C, Apo-A, ApoB and IL-6. Obesity was assessed by fat body mass (FBM) using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and by body mass index (BMI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found no association between FRACT and body composition, in particular adiposity. Obese and non obese subjects with metabolic syndrome tended to have higher levels of FRACT compared with non-obese subjects without metabolic syndrome but this did not reach statistical significance. Most importantly we report significant correlations between FRACT and circulating IL-6, Apo-B, LDL-C and insulin. The associations with IL-6 and Apo-B were particularly significant (P-value<0.001), and survived correction for multiple testing and adjustment for age and other covariates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher FRACT levels correlated with elevated levels of IL-6, Apo-B, LDL-C and insulin, all known risk factors for several clinical related diseases suggesting a potential role of FRACT in inflammation and tissue injury. Variations of FRACT levels are not influenced by body composition and are not correlated with leptin indicating that fat mass alone is not responsible for elevation of FRACT seen in obese individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
authors.forename: Liran
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.forename: Frances M K
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Svetlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Trofimov
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Surdulescu
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Spector
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Livshits
mesh_terms: D001055:Apolipoproteins B / Q000097:blood*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D054428:Chemokine CX3CL1 / Q000097:blood*; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D001055:Apolipoproteins B; D001786:Blood Glucose; D054428:Chemokine CX3CL1; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D007328:Insulin; D015850:Interleukin-6; D020738:Leptin
keywords: ApoA/B; Atherosclerosis; BMI; Chemokine; FBM; FRACT; HDL-C; IL-6; LDL-C; Obesity; Systemic inflammation; Type 2 diabetes; apolipoprotein A/B; body mass index; fat body mass; fractalkine; high density lipoprotein cholesterol; interleukin 6.; low density lipoprotein cholesterol