Irisin is an exercise-regulated myokine inducing browning of white adipose tissue and has gained interest as a potential new strategy to combat obesity and its associated disorders, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The aim of this study is to evaluate the circulating serum irisin levels in obesity and T2DM and also to elucidate possible relationships between serum irisin levels with anthropometric and metabolic parameters of obesity and T2DM. One hundred fifty newly diagnosed T2DM patients as well as 150 nondiabetic control subjects were enrolled in this study. Nondiabetic controls were then stratified according to their body mass index (BMI) into three subgroups; lean, overweight, and obese. Serum irisin levels were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum irisin levels were significantly decreased in T2DM patients compared with nondiabetic controls. Obese nondiabetic controls had significantly higher serum irisin levels compared with lean nondiabetic controls. In both nondiabetic controls and T2DM patients, serum irisin was significantly positively correlated with BMI (r 5 0.985, P < 0.001 and r 5 0.218, P 5 0.007, respectively), fat mass (r 5 0.959, P < 0.001 and r 5 0.202, P 5 0.013, respectively), fat-free mass (r 5 0.606, P < 0.001 and r 5 0.194, P 5 0.017, respectively), fat-free mass index (r 5 0.820, P < 0.001 and r 5 0.179, P 5 0.028, respectively), waist-to-hip ratio (r 5 0.880, P < 0.001 and r 5 0.194, P 5 0.017, respectively), fasting insulin (r 5 0.989, P < 0.001 and r 5 0.207, P 5 0.011, respectively), and HOMA-IR (r 5 0.989, P < 0.001 and r 5 0.185, P 5 0.023, respectively), whereas; significantly negatively correlated with insulin sensitivity (r 5 20.992, P < 0.001 and r 5 20.187, P 5 0.022, respectively). In this study, we demonstrated that circulating serum irisin levels were increased in obese nondiabetic subjects, while decreased in T2DM patients. Moreover, serum irisin levels were correlated with anthropometric and metabolic markers of obesity and T2DM. V C 2016 IUBMB Life, 68(7): [544][545][546][547][548][549][550][551][552][553][554][555][556] 2016

Diabetic nephropathy is a serious complication of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and, unless arrested, leads to end-stage renal disease. Therefore, early prediction and detection of DN would greatly benefit the disease management and delay its progression. The aim of this study is to evaluate the levels of urinary monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (uMCP-1) and urinary vitamin D-binding protein (uVDBP) in type 2 diabetic patients with different degrees of diabetic nephropathy (DN) and to assess the value of uMCP-1 and uVDBP in the early detection of DN. Seventy-five type 2 diabetic patients with normoalbuminuria (n = 25), microalbuminuria (n = 25), macroalbuminuria (n = 25), and 25 healthy controls were included in this study. Urinary MCP-1 and VDBP levels were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A significant elevation in the uMCP-1 and uVDBP levels was found in macroalbuminuric (p < 0.001) and microalbuminuric (p < 0.01) diabetic patients compared to that in normoalbuminuric diabetic patients and control subjects (p < 0.001). Correlation study revealed that both uMCP-1 and uVDBP were significantly positively correlated to urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (r = 0.968, p < 0.001 and r = 0.973, p < 0.001, respectively), serum urea (r = 0.461, p = 0.001 and r = 0.456, p = 0.002, respectively), and serum creatinine (r = 0.475, p = 0.001 and r = 0.448, p = 0.004, respectively) and significantly inversely correlated to glomerular filtration rate (r = -0.983, p < 0.001 and r = -0.988, p < 0.001, respectively). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of uMCP-1 and uVDBP levels for early diagnosis and detection of DN revealed that the cut-off value of uMCP-1 was 110 pg/mg with 92% sensitivity and 100% specificity; whereas, the cut-off value of uVDBP was 550 ng/mg with 96% sensitivity and 84% specificity. The findings of the present study suggest that uMCP-1 and uVDBP may be considered as novel potential diagnostic biomarkers for the early detection of diabetic nephropathy.

Objectives: The present work was designed to studythe role of endocannabinoid system in the obesity associated atherogenesis and trying to clarify its possible mechanism/s of action. Methods: Thirty adult male wistar albino rats were utilized in the present experiment. They were divided into three equal groups (10 rats each); Group 1: Lean control group, which were fed normal laboratory chow diet and gavaged once daily by dimethyl sulfoxide in a dose of 0.6ml/kg /day for 10 weeks. Group 2: Atherogenic diet group which were fed high fat diet and gavaged once daily by dimethyl sulfoxide as group 1. Group 3: Atherogenic diet treated group which were fed high fat diet and gavaged once daily by NIDA-41020 (a selective cannabinoid receptor 1 blocker) in a dose of 10mg/ kg /day for 10 weeks. Then body mass index (BMI), bleeding time, and total clotting time were assessed. After that, the animals were sacrificed and lipid profile, atherogenic index, bleeding time, platelet aggregation percentage, clot retractions, clotting time, prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), total & differential leukocytic counts and serum adiponectin levels were assessed in all groups. The aorta was obtained from each animal dissected and stained by haematoxylin/eosin and oil Red O staining for histological examination and detection of aortic thickness and foam cells deposition. Results: The laboratory investigations and histological examination revealed, significant increases in BMI, lipid profile, atherogenic index, platelet aggregation%, peripheral monocytic count, and aortic thickness in the high fat diet received group versus lean controls which were otherwise associated with significant decreases in total clotting time, PT, aPTT, serum HDL & adiponectin levels. These changes were significantly and profoundly inhibited by the administration of the cannabinoid receptor antagonist. Conclusion: The endocannabinoid system is involved in the atherogenic changes associated with obesity. These effects were attributed to interference with serum adiponectin level, dyslipidemia, hypercoagulability, increased platelet activation & peripheral as well as endothelial recruitment of monocytes. These effects were found to be via activation of cannabinoid 1 receptor.