Association of Serum Soluble T-cadherin Levels with Metabolic Syndrome in Japanese Participants Undergoing Health Checkups.

AIMS: Visceral fat accumulation is the central feature of metabolic syndrome and subsequent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Soluble T-cadherin (sT-cad) has been identified in circulation, but its clinical significance in the general population remains unclear. We investigated the associations of circulating sT-cad levels with metabolic syndrome and its components in a population undergoing health checkups.

METHODS

A total of 1321 Japanese participants (825 males and 496 females) undergoing health checkups were enrolled. Serum levels of sT-cad (130-kDa, 100-kDa, and 30-kDa), adiponectin (APN), and other clinical parameters were measured. Associations between sT-cad and metabolic risk factors were analyzed.

RESULTS

Among the three sT-cad isoforms, serum 130-kDa sT-cad levels were significantly negatively correlated with waist circumference, blood pressure, Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-R), triglycerides, Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), uric acid, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and positively correlated with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and APN. In multivariate analysis, high TG levels and/or HDL-C levels and hsCRP were independent negative determinants of 130-kDa sT-cad levels in both sexes. Furthermore, 130-kDa sT-cad levels decreased progressively with an increasing number of metabolic risk factors (P for trend ＜0.001).

CONCLUSION

Low serum 130-kDa sT-cad levels are associated with the presence and accumulation of metabolic syndrome-related abnormalities in a Japanese population undergoing health checkups. Inflammation and lipid abnormalities of metabolic syndrome (high TG and/or low HDL-C) may influence the serum 130-kDa sT-cad levels.