Assessment of progranulin and FAM19A5 protein blood levels in metabolic syndrome

Progranulin and family with sequence similarity 19, member A5 (FAM19A5) protein are adipokines with growing importance in the context of metabolic diseases. The study aimed to determine the serum concentration of progranulin and FAM19A5 in people with metabolic syndrome (MS) compared to those without MS. The concentration of progranulin and FAM19A5 was determined in 45 people with MS (group A) and in 35 healthy people without MS (group B). Body composition analysis, blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation and anthropometric measurements were performed. There were no differences in the blood levels of progranulin and FAM19A5 between the groups. In group A, the level of progranulin was 29.25±36.92 pg/ml and in group B it was 46.00±60.12pg/ml (p=0.2693). The level of FAM19A5 was 163.16±55.11 pg/ml and 197.57±112.89 pg/ml (p=0.1341) in subjects with and without metabolic syndrome, respectively. In group A, there was a correlation between FAM19A5 and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (R= –0.40) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level (R= –0.37). In group B, correlations were found between progranulin and waist circumference (R= –0.43) and progranulin and triglyceride (TG) levels (R= –0.42). Both groups together showed correlations between progranulin level and body mass index (R= –0.24), HDL (R=0.25) and TG levels (R= –0.25) and between FAM19A5 level and DBP (R= –0.34). In conclusion, patients with and without MS do not differ in the range of progranulin and FAM19A5 serum levels. In patients with MS, elevated FAM19A5 serum levels may be an indicator of dyslipidaemia development. FAM19A5 appears to be a better predictor of MS than progranulin.