Increased circulating obestatin in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
BACKGROUND
Some peptides, which regulate the metabolic balance, are thought to play important roles in nutritional disorders and systemic inflammation in COPD. Treatment of rats with obestatin decreased body-weight gain. Obestatin was also found to be correlated with inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. The aims of this study were to investigate the level of circulating obestatin in COPD and to analyze the relationship among obestatin and nutritional status, and systemic inflammation.


METHODS
32 COPD patients with BMI less than 20 kg/m2 and 22 normal controls were included. Body composition was estimated using "foot-to-foot" BIA technology. Circulating obestatin was determined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Pulmonary function, TNF-α and C reactive protein were also measured.


RESULTS
The level of circulating obestatin was higher in COPD with underweight than that in normal control (5562.75 ± 3435.43 pg/ml in COPD, 3663.90 ± 2313.95 pg/ml in controls, p = 0.028). BMI, Waist circumference, hip circumference, bodyFAT and FAT% in COPD group were lower than those in normal control. Positive correlation was found among circulating C reactive protein, TNF-α and obestatin. There was no significant correlation among BMI, pulmonary function and obestatin.


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that circulating obestatin is higher in underweight COPD patients, and positively correlated to systemic inflammation, but not to nutritional status.
Department of Family Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 37 GuoXue Xiang, Chengdu 610041, China.
Yi
Y
Lei
Department of Family Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 37 GuoXue Xiang, Chengdu 610041, China.
Yasha
Y
Liang
Department of Respiratory Disease, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 37 GuoXue Xiang, Chengdu 610041, China.
Yifan
Y
Chen
Department of Family Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 37 GuoXue Xiang, Chengdu 610041, China.
Xiaojing
X
Liu
Department of Family Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 37 GuoXue Xiang, Chengdu 610041, China.
Xiaoyang
X
Liao
Department of Family Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 37 GuoXue Xiang, Chengdu 610041, China.
Fengming
F
Luo