Aims
Betatrophin, a newly identified liver and adipose tissue-derived hormone, has been suggested as an inducer of β-cell proliferation in mice. However, the physiological role of betatrophin remains poorly understood in humans. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate circulating betatrophin concentrations in normal and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) Saudi subjects and its association with various metabolic parameters.

Methods
In this cross-sectional study, 200 Saudi adults (81 healthy non-T2DM controls, age: 41.43 ± 8.35 [mean ± SD]; BMI: 31.58 ± 5.49 and 119 T2DM subjects, age: 48.78 ± 11.76 years; BMI: 30.25 ± 4.83 kg/m2) were studied. Anthropometric and fasting serum biochemical data were collected. Circulating betatrophin was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based kit.

Results
We observed significantly higher levels of betatrophin in T2DM subjects compared to healthy controls (882.19 ± 329.06 vs 657.14 ± 261.04 pg/ml, p < 0.001). Furthermore, in T2DM subjects, betatrophin level was positively associated with blood pressure and serum fasting glucose (p < 0.05).

Conclusions
Our results suggest that circulating betatrophin is significantly elevated in subjects with T2DM compared to healthy controls. Increase in the level of betatrophin in T2DM subjects might be a compensatory mechanism for enhanced insulin demand in T2DM condition.