Multiplex determination of analytes related to metabolic syndrome after weight loss with Evidence biochip arrays

Background. Variations in the levels of adiponectin, C-peptide, CRP, cystatin C, ferritin, IL-1α, IL-6, insulin, leptin, PAI-1, resistin,TNFα have been associated to metabolic dysfunctions. Biochip array technology enables their multiplex determination from asingle sample, at a single point in time. This generates a patient’s profile, which provides more information than single analytedetermination. The aim of this study was to determine these analytes in plasma of obese subjects following weight loss.Methods. Plasma samples from obese subjects (n=12, average IBM>30kg/m2) were analysed. For weight reduction, 5 subjectsfollowed dietary restriction and 7 subjects underwent bariatric surgery. Two different biochip arrays were used for the multiplex determination.Simultaneous chemiluminescent immunoassays applied to the Evidence Investigator analyser were used. Statisticalsignificance between groups was calculated using the paired Student’s t-test (two tailed).Results. Following dietary restriction, significant reductions were observed in plasma insulin and CRP levels(p=0.045 and 0.030respectively). C-peptide, IL-6, leptin and TNFα exhibited moderate but no statistically significant reduction. A marginal increasewas observed in PAI-1 and resistin. Adiponectin and IL-1α remained unchanged. Following bariatric surgery, a highly significantreduction was observed in plasma leptin(p=0.005) and a significant increase was observed in plasma adiponectin(p=0.014). Cpeptideand PAI-1 were reduced and IL-1α, resistin and TNFα increased but did not reach statistical significance. No significantchanges were detected in CRP, IL-6 and insulin levels.Conclusions. This multi-analytical approach using biochip arrays shows differences between the groups undergoing weight lossand represents a valuable analytical tool in research settings.