Assessment of Hyperinsulinaemia Serum Fatty Synthase levels and Hypertriglyceridaemia in type 2 Diabetes Mellitus at UTH, Lusaka, Zambia

Abstract

Context— The transcriptional regulation of lipogenesis is a highly coordinated process that is controlled by insulin. Fatty acid synthase (FASN) plays a central role in de novo lipogenesis by converting acetyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA into the final end product, palmitate, which may subsequently be esterified into triacylglycerols and then stored in adipose tissue. Triacylglyceride and other lipids have been implicated in the development of atherocardiovascular complications in diabetes mellitus. Aims— In this study we aimed to assess serum insulin and fatty acids synthase in patients with T2DM and their relationship with hypertriglyceridaemia. Methods and Results— An analytical cross-sectional study was undertaken in black indigenous Zambians. Serum insulin, circulating FASN and triglycerides were assessed in T2DM and non-diabetic participants. Our results showed that participants with T2DM had significantly higher insulin and FASN levels (p < 0.001 and p = 0.022 respectively). Serum triglycerides were also significantly higher in diabetics (p = 0.039). Insulin correlated to FASN in non-diabetic participants with statistical significance (r = 0.476, p = 0.034). Serum insulin also correlated to circulating FASN in diabetic participants (r = 0.333), however the correlation was not statistically significant (p = 0.139). Multivariate linear regression showed that circulating FASN was the best predictor of triglycerides concentration (ß = 0.340, p = 0.09). Conclusion— The results of this study showed that hyperinsulinaemia and high FASN are characteristic of T2DM. The existence of high FASN in the presence of hyperinsulinaemia could explain the hypertriglyceridaemia and the associated increase in atherocardiovascular complications observed in T2DM.