Serum visfatin increases with progressive beta-cell deterioration

Visfatin has shown to be increased in type 2 diabetes but to be unrelated to insulin sensitivity. We hypothesized that visfatin is associated with insulin secretion in humans. To this aim, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 118 nondiabetic men and 64 (35 men and 29 women) type 2 diabetic patients. Type 1 diabetic patients with long-standing disease (n = 58; 31 men and 27 women) were also studied. In nondiabetic subjects, circulating visfatin (enzyme immunoassay) was independently associated with insulin secretion (acute insulin response to glucose [AIRg] from intravenous glucose tolerance tests) but not with insulin sensitivity (Si) or other metabolic or anthropometric parameters, and AIRg alone explained 8% of visfatin variance (beta = -0.29, P = 0.001). Circulating visfatin was increased in type 2 diabetes (mean 18 [95% CI 16-21] vs. 15 ng/ml [13-17] for type 2 diabetic and nondiabetic subjects, respectively; P = 0.017, adjusted for sex, age, and BMI), although this association was largely attenuated after accounting for HbA1c (A1C). Finally, circulating visfatin was found to be increased in patients with long-standing type 1 diabetes, even after adjusting for A1C values (37 ng/ml [34-40]; P < 0.0001, adjusted for sex, age, BMI, and A1C compared with either type 2 diabetic or nondiabetic subjects). In summary, circulating visfatin is increased with progressive beta-cell deterioration. The study of the regulation and role of visfatin in diabetes merits further consideration.