title: Muscle Carnosine Is Associated with Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Humans.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Carnosine is a naturally present dipeptide abundant in skeletal muscle and an over-the counter food additive. Animal data suggest a role of carnosine supplementation in the prevention and treatment of obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease but only limited human data exists.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Samples of vastus lateralis muscle were obtained by needle biopsy. We measured muscle carnosine levels (high-performance liquid chromatography), % body fat (bioimpedance), abdominal subcutaneous and visceral adiposity (magnetic resonance imaging), insulin sensitivity (euglycaemic hyperinsulinemic clamp), resting energy expenditure (REE, indirect calorimetry), free-living ambulatory physical activity (accelerometers) and lipid profile in 36 sedentary non-vegetarian middle aged men (45±7 years) with varying degrees of adiposity and glucose tolerance. Muscle carnosine content was positively related to % body fat (r = 0.35, p = 0.04) and subcutaneous (r = 0.38, p = 0.02) but not visceral fat (r = 0.17, p = 0.33). Muscle carnosine content was inversely associated with insulin sensitivity (r = -0.44, p = 0.008), REE (r = -0.58, p<0.001) and HDL-cholesterol levels (r = -0.34, p = 0.048). Insulin sensitivity and physical activity were the best predictors of muscle carnosine content after adjustment for adiposity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data shows that higher carnosine content in human skeletal muscle is positively associated with insulin resistance and fasting metabolic preference for glucose. Moreover, it is negatively associated with HDL-cholesterol and basal energy expenditure. Intervention studies targeting insulin resistance, metabolic and cardiovascular disease risk factors are necessary to evaluate its putative role in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Monash Centre for Health, Research and Implementation, School of Public health and Preventive Medicine, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Barbora
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: de Courten
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Timea
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kurdiova
authors.affiliation: Centre for Chronic Disease, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Maximilian P J
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: de Courten
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University Hospital Bratislava, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Vitazoslav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Belan
authors.affiliation: Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Everaert
authors.affiliation: Surgery Department, Slovak Medical University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vician
authors.affiliation: Monash Centre for Health, Research and Implementation, School of Public health and Preventive Medicine, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Teede
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gasperikova
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aldini
authors.affiliation: Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Derave
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Jozef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ukropec
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia; Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ukropcova
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002336:Carnosine / Q000378:metabolism*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000502:physiology; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D002336:Carnosine