Serum neuregulin 1 in relation to ventricular function and subclinical atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes patients

Neuregulin 1 (NRG-1) is one of the members of the epidermal growth factors proteins. The present study provides novel insights into the relationship between serum levels of NRG-1 and insulin resistance, subclinical atherosclerosis and cardiac dysfunction that occur in type 2 diabetes (T2D).

The study included 50 patients with T2D and 40 healthy age- and gender-matched controls. Serum NRG-1 was measured using ELISA. Glycemic parameters, lipid profile and insulin resistance were assessed. Trans-thoracic echocardiography and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) were studied for all study subjects.

T2D patients had significantly lower serum NRG-1 levels than controls. Serum NRG-1 was negatively correlated with age, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, insulin resistance, blood urea, serum creatinine and LDL-C, and positively correlated with HDL-C, eGFR and CIMT. Regarding echocardiographic variables, serum NRG-1 was found to correlate positively with left ventricular global longitudinal strain and negatively with E/E_a ratio. NRG-1 was found to predict subclinical atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes patients at a cut-off value<108.5pg/ml with 78% sensitivity and 80% specificity.

A robust relationship was found between serum NRG-1 levels and hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, subclinical atherosclerosis, and cardiac dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes. These results shed light on a possible role of NRG-1 as a potential noninvasive biomarker for detection of cardiometabolic risk in T2D.