Abstract: Objective To investigate the association of serum proneurotensin (PNT) levels with metabolic syndrome (MetS)-related items. Methods A total of 312 Hans from Guizhou province were recruited in the present study and divided into control, non-MetS and MetS groups according to age and gender. Subjects with or without MetS were diagnosed according to the IDF diagnostic criteria. Serum PNT levels were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. Results Serum PNT levels in the MetS group were significantly increased by 10.3% compared with the controls [ (57.54±13.16) ng/L vs. (52.19±13.28) ng/L, P<0.05]. Serum PNT level was independently negatively correlated with age, but positively correlated with TG, FBG and LDL-C in all subjects. TG, FBG, LDL-C and age were independent factors for serum PNT levels. According to tertiles of PNT, binary logistic regression analysis between MetS and controls showed that the risk of MetS in subjects with the highest serum PNT levels was 1.32-fold higher than in those with the lowest PNT levels after adjusting for age and gender [odds ratio (OR) = 2.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.34~4.87, P<0.05]. Conclusions It has been founded that serum PNT levels are positively correlated with components of MetS and independently negatively correlated with age. Subjects with high serum PNT levels are more susceptible to MetS than those with low PNT levels. PNT might be the risk factor of MetS.

Key words: proneurotensin (PNT), metabolic syndrome, adipokine, association