Clear evidence indicates that cytokines, for instance, adipokines, hepatokines, inflammatory cytokines, myokines, and osteokines, contribute substantially to the development of abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism. Some cytokines play a positive role in metabolism action, while others have a negative metabolic role linking to the induction of metabolic dysfunction. The mechanisms involved are not fully understood, but are associated with lipid accumulation in organs and tissues, especially in the adipose and liver tissue, changes in energy metabolism, and inflammatory signals derived from various cell types, including immune cells. In this review, we describe the roles of certain cytokines in the regulation of metabolism and inter-organ signaling in regard to the pathophysiological aspects. Given the disease-related changes in circulating levels of relevant cytokines, these factors may serve as biomarkers for the early detection of metabolic disorders. Moreover, based on preclinical studies, certain cytokines that can induce improvements in glucose and lipid metabolism and immune response may emerge as novel targets of broader and more efficacious treatments and prevention of metabolic disease.

Background: Diabetic patients have a higher risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis. Stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1), the main enzyme responsible for producing monounsaturated fatty acids(MUFA) from saturated fatty acids, is frequently deregulated in both diabetes and CRC. The function and mechanism of SCD1 in metastasis of CRC and its relevance to glucose remains largely unknown. Methods: SCD1 expression levels were analyzed in human CRC tissues and the Cancer Browser database (https://genome-cancer.ucsc.edu/). CRC cell lines stably transfected with SCD1 shRNAs or vector were established to investigate the role of SCD1 in modulating migration and invasion of CRC cells. A glucose concentration gradient was set to investigate regulation of SCD1 in CRC relevant to diabetic conditions. Results: The clinical data analysis showed high expression of SCD1 in CRC tissues with a negative correlation with the prognosis of CRC. In vitro experiments revealed that SCD1 increased CRC progression through promoting epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Lipidomic analysis demonstrated that SCD1 increased MUFA levels and MUFA administration could rescue migration and invasion defect of CRC cells induced by SCD1 knockdown. Furthermore, SCD1-mediated progression of CRC was promoted by carbohydrate response-element binding protein (ChREBP) in response to high glucose. Mechanistically, hyperglycemia-SCD1-MUFA induced CRC cell migration and invasion by regulating PTEN. Conclusions: Our findings show that SCD1 promotes metastasis of CRC cells through MUFA production and suppressing PTEN in response to glucose, which may be a novel mechanism for diabetes-induced CRC metastasis.

Background: A link between uric acid (UA) levels and cardiovascular diseases has been previously reported. However, its importance as a risk factor is still controversial. This study sought to determine whether elevated serum uric acid levels are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in middle-aged and elderly Chinese individuals.Methods: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study in Shanghai, with a total of 8510 participants aged ≥40 years. The CVD included diagnosed coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. MetS was defined according to the updated National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria for Asian Americans.Results: Uric acid levels were positively associated with BMI, waist circumference, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, glycohemoglobin, fasting plasma glucose, postprandial 2-hour plasma glucose (all P < 0.05), and negatively associated with HDL-cholesterol (P < 0.001). The prevalence of CVD significantly increased with increasing quartiles of UA in those without MetS group (p trend < 0.001), but not necessarily increased in those with MetS. After adjustment for metabolic syndrome and other cardiovascular risk factors, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that odds ratios (OR) for CHD, stroke, and CVD in those in the fourth quartiles were 2.34 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.73 to 3.45), 2.18 (95% CI 1.86 to 3.28), and 2.16 (95% CI 1.80 to 3.29), respectively, compared with those in the first quartile of UA.Conclusions: Elevated serum uric acid level was associated with CVD, independent of conventional cardiovascular disease risk factors and metabolic syndrome.