Elevated Serum Concentration of Adipocyte Fatty Acid-Binding Protein Correlates with the Markers of Abdominal Obesity Independently of Thyroid Hormones in Non-Obese Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Aleksandra Maria Polak; Agnieszka Łebkowska; Anna Krentowska; Angelika Buczyńska; Marcin Adamski; Adam Jacek Krętowski; Irina Kowalska; Agnieszka Adamska

doi:10.3390/jcm12144610

Elevated Serum Concentration of Adipocyte Fatty Acid-Binding Protein Correlates with the Markers of Abdominal Obesity Independently of Thyroid Hormones in Non-Obese Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

J Clin Med. 2023 Jul 11;12(14):4610. doi: 10.3390/jcm12144610.

Authors

Aleksandra Maria Polak¹, Agnieszka Łebkowska², Anna Krentowska², Angelika Buczyńska³, Marcin Adamski⁴, Adam Jacek Krętowski^{1

3}, Irina Kowalska², Agnieszka Adamska¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Białystok, 15-276 Białystok, Poland.
² Department of Internal Medicine and Metabolic Diseases, Medical University of Białystok, 15-276 Białystok, Poland.
³ Clinical Research Centre, Medical University of Białystok, 15-276 Białystok, Poland.
⁴ Faculty of Computer Science, Bialystok University of Technology, 15-351 Białystok, Poland.

Abstract

Adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (A-FABP) is mainly expressed in adipocytes. The risk of abdominal obesity and autoimmune thyroid disease is increased in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The objective of this study was to explore the relationship of serum concentration of A-FABP with parameters of obesity, e.g., waist to hip ratio (WHR) and the amount of adipose tissue assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and thyroid hormone homeostasis in women with PCOS. We examined 66 women with PCOS and 67 healthy women. Serum concentrations of A-FABP and thyroid hormones were measured; the FT3/FT4 ratio, thyroid-stimulating hormone index (TSHI), thyrotrope thyroxine resistance index (TT4RI) and thyroid feedback quantile-based index (TFQI) were calculated. In the PCOS group, serum concentrations of A-FABP, FT3 and the FT3/FT4 ratio were significantly higher in comparison to the control group (all p < 0.05). A correlation of A-FABP with WHR (r = 0.26, p = 0.04) and the percentage of adipose tissue (r = 0.33, p = 0.01) has been found only in women with PCOS. We observed no correlation between serum levels of A-FABP and TSHI, TT4RI or TFQI in women with PCOS (all p > 0.05). Our results indicate that A-FABP is an adipokine that may be connected with abdominal obesity independently of thyroid hormone homeostasis in PCOS patients.

Keywords: A-FABP; PCOS; obesity; thyroid hormones.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Medical University of Białystok, grant number SUB/1/DN/22/001/1150. The APC was funded by Medical University of Białystok.