Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity (Dec 2019)

The OXTR Polymorphism Stratified the Correlation of Oxytocin and Glucose Homeostasis in Non-Diabetic Subjects

  • Chang HH,
  • Chang WH,
  • Chi MH,
  • Peng YC,
  • Huang CC,
  • Yang YK,
  • Chen PS

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 12
pp. 2707 – 2713

Abstract

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Hui Hua Chang,1–4 Wei Hung Chang,5 Mei Hung Chi,5 Yi Chin Peng,1 Chih-Chun Huang,5 Yen Kuang Yang,5–7 Po See Chen5,6 1Institute of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 2School of Pharmacy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 3Department of Pharmacy, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 4Department of Pharmacy, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Dou-Liou Branch, Yunlin, Taiwan; 5Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 6Institute of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; 7Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Dou-Liou Branch, Yunlin, TaiwanCorrespondence: Po See ChenDepartment of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, 138 Sheng Li Road, North District, Tainan 70403, TaiwanTel +886-6-2353535 ext. 5189Fax +886-6-2759259Email [email protected]: Previous animal studies have shown that the oxytocin system might affect glucose homeostasis through the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and peripheral organs. Moreover, whether the effect is stratified by the polymorphism of oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) remains unclear.Methods: In this study, we recruited 89 non-diabetic participants. Their plasma oxytocin and serum insulin profiles were obtained, and the polymorphism of OXTR rs53576 was genotyped.Results: There were significant correlations between the oxytocin level and fasting glucose level (r = –0.29, P <0.01), insulin level (r = –0.26, P = 0.01), and homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (r = –0.25, P = 0.01), when adjusted for age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). When further considering the stratification effects of OXTR variation, we found that the oxytocin level was significantly correlated with the fasting glucose level (r = –0.25, P = 0.04), insulin level (r = –0.35, P = 0.03), and HOMA-IR (r = –0.35, P < 0.01) in subjects with the OXTR A allele (n = 75) after adjustment for age, gender, and BMI. In addition, the oxytocin level in those with the GG genotype of OXTR was significantly negatively correlated with the leptin level (n = 14, r = –0.66, P = 0.02).Conclusion: The results demonstrated that the polymorphism of OXTR plays an important role in individual differences in the correlation of oxytocin and glucose homeostasis in non-diabetic subjects.Keywords: glucose, insulin, oxytocin, OXTR, polymorphism

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