Serum levels of the incretin-like peptide 26RFa are diminished in women living with obesity and diabetes and restored after sleeve gastrectomy: Results from the prospective pilot RFa-Ba-S study

Diabetes Obes Metab. 2024 Dec;26(12):5556-5568. doi: 10.1111/dom.15871. Epub 2024 Sep 30.

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the evolution of the incretin-like peptide 26RFa in a prospective cohort of women living with obesity with or without type 2 diabetes (T2D) before and after sleeve gastrectomy (SG).

Methods: In this study, a total of 61 women were divided into three groups: women living with severe obesity without T2D (WlwOB group), women living with severe obesity and T2D (WlwOB-T2D group) and lean healthy volunteers (control group). Serum 26RFa concentrations were measured using a 26RFa enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay developed specifically for this study during meal tests before SG, and 30 and 180 days after SG.

Results: At baseline, serum 26RFa levels were reduced in the WlwOB (P < .05) and WlwOB-T2D (P < .01) groups compared with controls. In the WlwOB-T2D group, fasting 26RFa levels were found to increase throughout the entire follow-up period up to 6 months after the SG (P < .001). During the meal tests, serum 26RFa levels increased, especially in the WlwOB-T2D group at baseline. At the end of the follow-up, the profile of 26RFa concentrations obtained during the meal test in patients with severe obesity and T2D was similar to that of the controls.

Conclusions: This prospective clinical study provides the first evidence that circulating 26RFa is altered mainly in WlwOB-T2D, and that these defects are partially reversed after SG.

Keywords: 26RFa; QRFP; human; obesity; sleeve gastrectomy; type 2 diabetes.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2* / blood
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2* / complications
  • Female
  • Gastrectomy* / methods
  • Humans
  • Incretins / blood
  • Middle Aged
  • Obesity, Morbid* / blood
  • Obesity, Morbid* / complications
  • Obesity, Morbid* / surgery
  • Pilot Projects
  • Prospective Studies
  • Weight Loss / physiology

Substances

  • Incretins

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