Liver alanine aminotransferase, insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction in normotriglyceridaemic subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus

• Published in: European journal of clinical investigation Vol. 35; no. 6; pp. 369 - 374
• Main Authors: Schindhelm, R. K., Diamant, M., Bakker, S. J. L., Van Dijk, R. A. J. M., Scheffer, P. G., Teerlink, T., Kostense, P. J., Heine, R. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01-06-2005; Blackwell; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Alanine aminotransferase; Alanine Transaminase - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - enzymology; Endothelium, Vascular - physiopathology; fatty liver; Female; Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen; General aspects; Glucose Clamp Technique; Humans; Insulin Resistance; insulin sensitivity; Liver - drug effects; Liver. Biliary tract. Portal circulation. Exocrine pancreas; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Other diseases. Semiology; vascular function; Endocrinopathy; Type 2 diabetes; Human; vascular function; Enzyme; Transferases; Hepatic disease; Metabolic diseases; Insulin; Endothelium; Medicine; Target tissue resistance; insulin sensitivity; Fatty liver; Dysfunction; Transaminases; Blood vessel; Alanine transaminase; Alanine aminotransferase
• ISSN: 0014-2972; 1365-2362
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2362.2005.01502.x

Background  Plasma levels of liver transaminases, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), are elevated in most cases of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Elevated ALT levels are associated with insulin resistance, and subjects with NAFLD have features of the metabolic syndrome that confer high‐risk cardiovascular disease. Alanine aminotransferase predicts the development of type 2 diabetes (DM2) in subjects with the metabolic syndrome. However, the role of elevated ALT levels in subjects with overt DM2 has yet not been explored.
Materials and methods  In a cross‐sectional study, 64 normotriglyceridaemic subjects with DM2 were studied with regard to the relation between liver transaminases with whole‐body insulin sensitivity, measured with the euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp and with brachial artery flow‐mediated dilation (FMD) as a marker of endothelial dysfunction.
Results  On average, patients were normotriglyceridaemic (plasma triglycerides 1·3 ± 0·4 mmol L−1) and had good glycaemic control (HbA1c 6·2 ± 0·8%). The mean ALT level was 15·0 ± 7·5 U L−1, and the mean aspartate aminotransferase concentration equalled 10·6 ± 2·6 U L−1. Alanine aminotransferase levels were negatively associated with whole‐body insulin sensitivity as well as with FMD (both P = 0·03, in multivariate analyses; regression coefficients beta [95%CI]: −0·76 [−1·4 to −0·08] and −0·31 [−0·58 to −0·03] respectively).
Conclusions  In metabolically well‐controlled patients with DM2, ALT levels are related to decreased insulin‐sensitivity and an impaired conduit vessel vascular function.