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Updated: Sep 11, 2025

Coculture Analysis of Extracellular Protein Interactions Affecting Insulin Secretion by Pancreatic Beta Cells
Published on: June 15, 2013
Effect of Osteocalcin on Insulin Sensitivity, Insulin Secretion, and β-cell Compensation in Mexican Americans
Yumeng Gao1, Vera Hsu1, Alyson Kil1
1Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA.
Context:
Previous animal studies show association between osteocalcin (OC) and type 2 diabetes-related quantitative traits (QTs), with some suggesting these effects being mediated by adipokines. Replication in humans has been inconsistent.
Objective:
We aimed to assess the association between osteocalcin and type 2 diabetes-related QTs and the roles of adipokines on the association between OC and glucose metabolism.
Methods:
We used data from the BetaGene study, which is a cross-sectional family-based study of Mexican Americans from Los Angeles County. We tested the association between type 2 diabetes-related QTs and OC, including inactive (OC-inactive) and active (OC-active) forms, in 867 Mexican Americans without type 2 diabetes from 342 families. We also assessed the potential mediating effect of adipokines on these relationships.
Results:
OC-active was negatively associated with insulin sensitivity (SI; P = 2.1 × 10-3) and positively associated with the insulinogenic index (P = 2.8 × 10-3). Acute insulin response was marginally significantly associated with OC-active (P = .07). Measures of β-cell compensation for insulin resistance were not associated with OC. There was no evidence of mediation by adipokines.
Conclusion:
We conclude OC-active is associated with SI, without mediation by adipokines or body fat. As there was no association with measures of β-cell compensation for insulin resistance, the association between OC-active and insulin secretion reflects the compensatory response to SI.
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