CLINICAL SCIENCE Fetuin-A levels in hyperthyroidism Barıs¸ Onder Pamuk,I Hamiyet Yılmaz,I Tugba Topcuoglu,II Oktay Bilgir,II Ozlem C¸alan,III Gulseren Pamuk,IV Derun Taner ErtugrulV IIzmirBozyakaTeachingandResearchHospital,DepartmentofEndocrinologyandMetabolism,Izmir,Turkey.IIIzmirBozyakaTeachingandResearch Hospital,DepartmentofInternalMedicine,Bozyaka,Izmir.IIIIzmirBozyakaTeachingandResearchHospital,DepartmentofBiochemistry,Bozyaka,Izmir, Turkey. IVIzmir Bozyaka Teaching and Research Hospital, Department of Family Medicine,Bozyaka, Izmir, Turkey. VKecioren Teaching and Research Hospital,DepartmentofEndocrinologyandMetabolism,Ankara,Turkey. OBJECTIVE: Fetuin-A is a protein secreted from the liver that inhibits arterial calcification deposition and can contribute to insulin resistance. Hyperthyroidism is also associated with insulin resistance. It is not known whetherhyperthyroidism hasaneffect onfetuin-A levels. METHODS: We measured fetuin-A levels and homeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance before hyperthyroidismtreatmentwasinitiatedandaftereuthyroidismwasachieved.Atotalof42patientsdiagnosed with hyperthyroidism were enrolled in this study. Fetuin-A, insulin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, fasting bloodglucose,freeT3(fT3),freeT4(fT4),andthyrotropinweremeasuredbeforeandaftereuthyroidismwas established. RESULTS:Basalfastingbloodglucose,high-sensitivityC-reactiveprotein,insulin,c-peptide,homeostasismodel of assessment-insulin resistance, fT3, fT4 and fetuin-A levels were significantly decreased after euthyroidism wasachieved(Table1).Basalfastingbloodglucose(r:0.407,p:0.008),high-sensitivityC-reactiveprotein(r:0.523, p,0.0001),insulin(r:0.479,p:0.001),homeostasismodelofassessment-insulinresistance(r:0.541,p,0.0001),fT3 (r:0.492, p:0.001) and fT4 (r:0.473, p:0.002) were positively correlated with basal fetuin-A levels. Basal thyrotropin levelsweresignificantly negatively correlated (r:-0.553, p,0.0001)withbasal fetuin-A levels. CONCLUSION:Our findings suggestthathyperthyroidism influences fetuin-A levels. KEYWORDS: Fetuin-A; Hyperthyroidism; InsulinResistance. PamukBO,YılmazH,TopcuogluT,BilgirO,C¸alanO,PamukG,etal.Fetuin-Alevelsinhyperthyroidism.Clinics.2013;68(3):379-383. ReceivedforpublicationonDecember16,2012;FirstreviewcompletedonJanuary8,2013;AcceptedforpublicationJanuary26,2013 E-mail:[email protected] Tel.:+90232250-5050 & INTRODUCTION associatedwithhepatosteatosisandareelevatedinpatients withinsulinresistance(8).Fetuin-Acanalsobevaluablefor Fetuin-A is a proteinsecreted fromthe liver thatinhibits thepredictionofnew-onsettype2diabetes.IntheEuropean arterialcalciumdeposition(1).Itinteractswithcalciumand Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Study, phosphorus in the serum, increasing their solubility and circulatingfetuin-Alevelspredictedtheincidenceoftype2 inhibiting calcium crystal precipitation. Fetuin-A-knockout diabetes during a 7-yr follow-up (9). In the Health, Aging, mice have been shown to develop greater soft tissue and Body Composition study, serum fetuin-A levels were calcification compared with wild-type control mice (2-3). alsosignificantlyassociatedwithincidentdiabetesduringa Lower fetuin-A levels are associated with cardiovascular 6-yrfollow-up (10). disease (CVD) events and all-cause mortality in end-stage Hyperthyroidismisalsoassociatedwithinsulinresistance renal disease(ESRD) (4). andelevatedbloodglucoselevels(11-12).However,thelink Fetuin-Ainhibitsinsulinreceptortyrosinekinaseactivity betweenhyperthyroidismandinsulinresistancehasnotbeen inthemuscleandliver,therebyinhibitinginsulinsignaling fullyelucidated.Toourknowledge,fetuin-Alevelshavenot and introducing insulin resistance in vitro (5). In humans, beenmeasuredinhyperthyroidism.Inthisstudy,weaimed fetuin-A may be an important link between obesity and toinvestigatetheleveloffetuin-Ainhyperthyroidism. insulin resistance (6-7). Fetuin-A concentrations are also & METHODS Copyright (cid:2) 2013CLINICS–ThisisanOpenAccessarticledistributedunder A total of 42 patients diagnosed with hyperthyroidism thetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttributionNon-CommercialLicense(http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non- were enrolled in this study. Blood samples were collected commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the before hyperthyroidism treatment was initiated and after originalworkisproperlycited. euthyroidism was achieved. Serum glucose levels were Nopotentialconflictofinterestwasreported. measured with an autoanalyzer with the manufacturer’s DOI:10.6061/clinics/2013(03)OA15 commerciallyavailablekits(Cobas8000,RocheDiagnostics, 379 Hyperthyroidismandfetuin-A CLINICS2013;68(3):379-383 PamukBOetal. Table 1-Biochemical resultsbefore andafter euthyroidismwas achieved(mean¡SD). Parameter(referencevalues) Hyperthyroid Euthyroid p-value Fetuin-A(ng/mL) 468.7¡143.5 234.5¡103.8 ,0.0001 FT3(pg/mL)(2.5-3.9) 8.6¡2.3 2.7¡0.3 ,0.0001 FT4(ng/dL)(0.61-1.06) 4.7¡1.6 1.2¡0.4 ,0.0001 TSH(mIU/mL)(0.41-4.25) 0.006¡0.014 0.986¡0.467 ,0.0001 Fastingbloodglucose(mg/dL)(70- 113.1¡15.6 94.8¡22.2 ,0.0001 110) Insulin(mU/mL)(1.9-23) 13.1¡2.5 8.5¡2.1 ,0.0001 HOMA-IR 3.69¡1.07 2.00¡0.67 ,0.0001 hsCRP(mg/L)(0.068-8.2) 6.27¡2.65 1.92¡0.79 ,0.0001 Calcium(mg/dL)(8.6-10.2) 10.1¡0.4 9.4¡0.3 ,0.0001 Mannheim, Germany). Free T3, free T4, TSH and insulin normaldistribution.AWilcoxonsignedranktestwasused levels were measured with a chemiluminescence immuno- to analyze data with a skewed distribution. Pearson’s and metric assay using a UniCell DXI 800 analyzer (Beckman Spearman’s analyses were used to identify correlations CoulterInc.,Fullerton,CA,USA).SerumhsCRPlevelswere between study parameters. For all statistics, a two-sided p- determinedusinganELISAaccordingtothemanufacturer’s value ,0.05 was considered statistically significant. All instructions (DRG International, Inc., USA). The intra- and analyses wereperformed with SPSS15.0for Windows. inter-assaycoefficientsofvariationwerebelow10%.Serum fetuin-A levels were measured with a human fetuin-A & RESULTS ELISA kit (BioVendor Laboratory Medicine, Brno, Czech Ofthe42hyperthyroidpatients(48.5¡15.0yearsold),27 Republic). The analytical sensitivity of the human fetuin-A patientswerefemale,and15weremale.Amongthecauses ELISA kit was 0.35 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-assay of hyperthyroidism, 30 patients had Graves’ disease, 11 coefficients of variation were below 6.5%. The exclusion patients had toxic adenoma, and 1 patient had two toxic criteria were previously known diabetes mellitus, athero- nodules. Euthyroidism was achieved in 3.0¡0.7 sclerotic vascular disease, infections, malignancy, amyloi- (mean¡SD) months. Basal fasting blood glucose, hsCRP, dosis, autoimmune diseases, alcohol consumption or insulin, HOMA-IR, fT3, fT4, calcium and fetuin-A levels smokinghistory,congestiveheartfailure,andliverorrenal were significantly decreased after euthyroidism was dysfunction. HOMA-IR was calculated using the following achieved (Table 1) (Figure 1). Basal fasting blood glucose formula: (r:0.407,p:0.008),hsCRP(r:0.523,p,0.0001),insulin(r:0.479, HOMA-IR=fasting glucose (mmol/L)6fasting insulin p:0.001), HOMA-IR(r:0.541, p,0.0001),fT3 (r:0.492, p:0.001) (mU/mL)/22.5. and fT4 (r:0.473, p:0.002) were positively correlated with The distribution of continuous variableswas determined basal fetuin-A levels (Figures 2, 3). Basal TSH levels were by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. A paired-sample t test significantly negatively correlated (r:-0.553, p,0.0001) with was performed to analyze initial and final values with a basal fetuin-A levels. The basal body mass index (before: Figure1-Thecomparisonoffetuin-A(ng/mL)levelsduringhyperthyroidismandeuthyroidism. 380 CLINICS2013;68(3):379-383 Hyperthyroidismandfetuin-A PamukBOetal. Figure2-ThecorrelationbetweenfreeFT4(referencerange:0.61-1.06ng/dL)andfetuin-A(ng/mL)levels. Figure3-ThecorrelationbetweenTSH(uIU/mL)andfetuin-A(ng/mL)levels. 381 Hyperthyroidismandfetuin-A CLINICS2013;68(3):379-383 PamukBOetal. 27.1¡3.2, after: 28.2¡3.7, p,0.0001) increased significantly (13). In addition to its functions as an inhibitor of tissue after euthyroidism wasachieved. calcification, fetuin-A is an endogenous inhibitor of the insulinreceptortyrosinekinase(14),andfetuin-A-knockout & DISCUSSION mice exhibit increased insulin sensitivity (15). Recent studies have associated high levels of fetuin-A with an In this study, we found that fetuin-A levels decreased increased risk of type 2 diabetes incidence (16), insulin significantly with hyperthyroidism treatment. To our resistance, hepatosteatosis (8) and metabolic syndrome (7). knowledge, this is the first study investigating the effect of Lietal.previouslyshowedthatfetuin-Aplaysaprotective hyperthyroidism on fetuin-A levels. In this study, hsCRP role in systemic inflammation by activating high-mobility levelsalsodecreasedsignificantlywiththenormalizationof groupbox1(HMGB1)synthesis(20).Hyperthyroidismmay thyroid hormones. Furthermore, fetuin-A levels were also initiate an inflammatory cascade and eventually positively correlated with thyroid hormone, HOMA-IR stimulate fetuin-A synthesis. Insulin resistance in and hsCRPlevels. hyperthyroidismmayalsoberelatedtotheincreasedlevels Fetuin-A is a liver-derived blood protein that acts as a of fetuin-A. Yavuz et al. previously showed that levothyr- potent inhibitor of ectopic mineralization. Monomeric oxine treatment of goiter patients significantly increased fetuin-A protein binds to small clusters of calcium and hsCRP at 16 weeks (21). In accordance with that study, phosphate. Therefore, fetuin-A is a mineral carrier protein we found a significant decrease in hsCRP levels with andasystemicinhibitorofpathologicalmineralizationthat hyperthyroidism treatment. Fetuin-A also has strong anti- complements local inhibitors that act in a cell-restricted or inflammatory properties (13). In our study, fetuin-A levels tissue-restricted fashion (13). Fetuin-A deficiency is asso- decreased with hsCRP levels, which mayalsobe related to ciated with soft tissue calcification in mice and humans. theinflammation-fetuin-Ainteraction.Inourstudy,insulin Fetuin-A is a prominent serum glycoprotein as well as a levelsweresignificantlypositivelycorrelatedwithfetuin-A major noncollagenous component of mineralized bone in levels; furthermore, insulin levels and fetuin-A levels were mammals. In vitro, fetuin-A can inhibit or stimulate decreased after euthyroidism was achieved. The relation- osteogenesis, depending on its concentrations (17). Rasul shipbetweenfetuin-Aandinsulinhasbeenstudiedinboth etal.previouslyfoundapositivecorrelationbetweenfetuin- clinicalandexperimentalstudies.Fetuin-Abindstoinsulin Aandbonealkalinephosphataseintype2diabeticmales.In females, fetuin-A was significantly negatively associated receptors in adipose and muscular tissue and inhibits withC-telopeptidelevels(18).However,theresearchersdid insulin receptor tyrosine kinase activity as well as insulin not measure thyroid hormones in that study. Thyroid receptor autophosphorylation in vivo and in vitro (13). hormones increase bone turnover markers, and hyperthyr- Fetuin-A has also been suggested to potentially cause oidismincreasesboneturnover.Fetuin-Amaybeincreased insulin resistance andmetabolic syndrome (13). in hyperthyroidism through a mechanism related to bone In the present study, fasting glucose levels decreased metabolism.Fetuin-Ahasbeenstudiedinseveralmetabolic significantly with hyperthyroidism treatment. Fasting glu- derangements; however, its role has not been studied in cose levels were significantly positively correlated with hyperthyroidism. Therefore, we could not compare our fetuin-Alevels.Itwaspreviouslyshownthathigherfetuin- results with previous studies. A concentrations were associated with type 2 diabetes and Satoetal.examinedtheeffectsofT3ontheexpressionof insulin resistance (24). In another study, fetuin-A levels calcification-associatedgenesandfoundthataphysiological were significantly correlated with fasting plasma glucose concentrationofT3increasedthemRNAlevelofmatrixG1a andCRP(25).Thepresentstudyisinaccordancewiththese protein (MGP), which is a potent inhibitor of vascular findings, as fetuin-A levels decreased significantly as the calcification invivo(19).Theyalsoshowedthathyperthyr- fastingglucoselevelsandinsulinresistancedecreasedafter oidism upregulated MGP mRNA 4.5 fold and reduced the hyperthyroidismtreatment.Atherosclerosishasbeenshown calciumcontentofrataorticsmoothtissueby11%.Fetuin-A tobeenhancedinhypothyroidism(26).Theanti-atherogenic also inhibits tissue calcification in a similar fashion; there- effectsofthyroidhormonesmayalsoberelatedtofetuin-A. fore, we hypothesize that there may be an interaction Further clinical and experimental studies investigating the between fetuin-A synthesis and thyroid hormones because effect of hypothyroidism on fetuin-A levels may reveal its we found a positive correlation between these two influence on atherosclerosis inhypothyroidism. parameters. To our knowledge, no experimental study in In conclusion, this study showed that fetuin-A levels theliteraturehasinvestigatedtheeffectofthyroidhormones declined significantly after hyperthyroidism treatment. on the mRNA levels of fetuin-A. Hypercalcemia is a well- Fetuin-Alevelswerealsocorrelatedwiththyroidhormones known complication of hyperthyroidism, and stimulating and insulin resistance. Further experimental studies are fetuin-Asynthesismaybeanadaptationtopreventectopic needed to elucidate the molecular link between the tissue calcification in hyperthyroidism. In a previousstudy hormones regulating tissue calcification and thyroid hor- of32thyrotoxicteenagegirls,21(66%)showedsomedegree mones. ofcalcificationcomparedwith73of600(12%)inthecontrol group (22). Yamashita et al. previously observed that fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-23 levels (which are also & AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS related to soft tissue calcification) decreased significantly PamukBO,ErtugrulDTconceivedanddesignedthestudy,analyzedand with hyperthyroidism treatment (23). However, they did interpretedthedata,draftedthearticle,andcriticallyrevisedthearticlefor not measure fetuin-A levels, and we therefore cannot importantintellectualcontent.YılmazH,TopcuogluT,BilgirO,CalanO, compare ourresults with thatstudy. Pamuk G organized data in the tables, assisted the patients during the Fetuin-Alevels havebeenfound tobehigher indiabetes study, helped in the literature revision, drafted the manuscript, and and inflammatory diseases, such as ankylosing spondylitis criticallyrevisedthemanuscriptregardingimportantintellectualcontent. 382 CLINICS2013;68(3):379-383 Hyperthyroidismandfetuin-A PamukBOetal. & REFERENCES 14. 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