Obesity and hyperlipidemia aggravate serum amino acid metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

Abstract Aims: Obesity and dyslipidemia are risk factors for insulin resistance and T2D development. The potential mechanism of progression of diabetes by the metabolomics approach is still unclear. This cross-sectional study aims to identify the metabolites related to T2D and T2D combined with obesity or hyperlipidemia. Materials and methods: 58 T2D patients were allocated to 3 groups (T2D (n=20), T2D + obesity (n=12), T2D + hyperlipidemia groups (n=26)). An age-matched healthy subjects were recruited as the control group (n=20). The fasting serum was obtained for cytokine detection and metabolomics analysis. Results: The highest levels of serum growth/differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) were found in the patients with T2D and obesity. Finally, 20 metabolites between the T2D + obesity and Healthy control groups, 32 metabolites between the T2D + hyperlipidemia and Healthy control groups, 11 metabolites between the T2D + obesity and the T2D groups, and 13 metabolites between the T2D + hyperlipidemia and the T2D groups were found significantly distinct. Amino acid metabolism was disturbed for patients with T2D with/without obesity or hyperlipidemia mainly including D-glutamine and D-glutamate, taurine and hypotaurine, beta-alanine, alanine, aspartate and glutamate, arginine and proline, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate and glycine, serine and threonine metabolism. In addition, beta-alanine, glycine, serine and threonine, arginine and proline, and pyruvate metabolism may be involved in the patients with T2D with obesity or hyperlipidemia compared with patients with T2D. Conclusions: Overall, obesity and hyperlipidemia may aggravate the progression of T2D by disruption of amino acid metabolism.