Follistatin is a protein that is expressed in almost all tissues and is linked to metabolic diseases, with elevated plasma levels in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). A recent research published in ‘Nature Communications’ reported that elevated levels of circulating follistatin may increase the risk of T2D.

The study was conducted in 4195 participants (Malmö Diet and Cancer Cardiovascular Cohort) which evaluated the association of circulating follistatin levels at baseline with incident T2D. The observations underlined the fact that plasma follistatin levels were elevated many years prior to the onset of T2D, and that circulating follistatin at baseline is associated with incident T2D, independently of established diabetes risk markers. Furthermore, the results showed that follistatin is associated with adipose tissue insulin resistance and related traits and that follistatin attenuated insulin-mediated suppression of lipolysis in adipocytes.

The findings suggest that glucokinase regulatory protein gene (GCKR) regulates follistatin secretion and that elevated circulating follistatin associates with an increased risk of T2D by inducing adipose tissue insulin resistance.

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