INVESTIGATION OF ASPROSIN AND TOLL LIKE RECEPTOR 4 IN INSULIN RESISTANCE ASSOCIATED WITH OBESITY AND TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS: AN EGYPTIAN CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
By
Dina A. Abdulhadia, Noha Abdel-Rahmana, Ahmed M. Albehairyb, Mamdouh M. El-Shishtawya*
a Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt.
b Consultant of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt.
Objectives: Fasting induces secretion of several hormones. Asprosin, a fasting induced glucogenic adipokine, plays a critical role in glucose homeostasis. Toll like receptor 4 (TLR4), is a pattern recognition receptor and a key element of the innate immune system that induces pro-inflammatory responses. This study inspected the role of Asprosin and TLR4 in insulin resistance related to diabetes mellitus and obesity among Egyptian subjects and studied the association between Asprosin and TLR4 in such cases. Methods: Ninety subjects were recruited: 30 non-diabetic/obese with BMI ≥ 30, 30 T2DM/obese with BMI ≥ 30 treated with metformin, and 30 non-diabetic/non-obese with BMI ≤ 29.9. Serum levels of insulin, Asprosin, and TLR4 were measured using ELISA. Serum glucose level was measured colorimetrically. The homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) was calculated. Results: Serum Asprosin level was significantly higher in both non-diabetic/obese and T2DM/obese groups than in non-diabetic/non-obese control group (p <0.05). Glucose level was significantly different (p<0.001) across study groups. In addition, correlations showed significant positive correlation between Asprosin and TLR4 in both non-diabetic/obese (p<0.001) and non-diabetic/non-obese (p<0.05) groups. Conclusions: Asprosin and TLR4 could be used as biomarkers for detecting and diagnosing insulin resistance in obesity and T2DM.
Keywords: Asprosin; Insulin resistance; Obesity; Toll-like receptor 4; Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
June 2025