Serum soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products correlates inversely with measures of adiposity in young adults

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) may promote inflammation by interacting with the receptor for advanced glycation end products. Serum soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE), a form of receptor for advanced glycation end products thought to mediate AGE's inflammatory properties, is decreased in diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease. Evidence in older adults suggests that sRAGE is depressed in individuals without current disease who are obese; however, 2 studies have failed to find this correlation. We hypothesized that sRAGE would be inversely correlated with adiposity and positively correlated with inflammation, even in apparently healthy, young adults. By considering adults of body mass index (BMI) varying from normal weight to overweight and obese, we aimed to define how closely AGEs and sRAGE correlate with adiposity and other indicators of metabolic stress. Anthropometric measurements and fasting blood samples were obtained from participants (n = 69). Sera were analyzed for sRAGE, n-epsilon carboxy-methyl-lysine, a measure of AGEs, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein. High molecular weight adiponectin, glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and triacylglycerol were also assessed (n = 32). Spearman rank correlations were used to evaluate the relationship among indicators of adiposity and biochemical indicators of metabolic health and inflammation. Factors inversely correlated with sRAGE include weight (R_s = -0.397; P = .001), waist circumference (-0.291; P = .015), and BMI (-0.3338; P = .004). High molecular weight adiponectin was positively correlated with sRAGE, and predictors of sRAGE included BMI and total cholesterol. This is the first time these associations have been found in a diverse population of young adults.