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Background: Low serum amylase levels may reflect impaired exocrine-endocrine relationship in the pancreas. However, few clinical studies have addressed this issue. Therefore, in this epidemiological study, we investigated whether low serum amylase was associated with the pathogenesis of impaired insulin action: metabolic syndrome (MetS) and diabetes. Research Design and Methods: Serum amylase, cardiometabolic risk factors, MetS (Adult Treatment Panel III criteria), and diabetes were examined in 2,425 asymptomatic subjects aged 30-80 years who underwent medical checkups recently (April 2009-March 2010) and 5 years ago. Results: Clinical variables, except for age and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), shifted favorably with increasing serum amylase levels. Plasma glucose levels at 1- and 2-hr during OGTT increased significantly with decreasing serum amylase levels. Multiple logistic analyses showed that, compared with highest quartile of serum amylase, lowest quartile was associated with increased risk for MetS and diabetes after adjustment for confounding factors [odds ratio (95% CI), 2.07 (1.39-3.07) and 2.76 (1.49-5.11), respectively]. In subjects who underwent checkups 5 years ago (n = 571), lower amylase at the previous checkup were associated with larger numbers of metabolic abnormalities at the recent checkup. The fluctuation over time in serum amylase levels in subjects with low serum amylase at the previous checkup was slight and was unaffected by kidney dysfunction. Conclusions: Our results indicate that low serum amylase is associated with increased risk of metabolic abnormalities, MetS and diabetes. These results suggest a pancreatic exocrine-endocrine relationship in certain clinical conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of the present study was to examine the in vitro responses of ERM cells under the combination of centrifugal and compression forces, in terms of their expression of HSP70 mRNA., Methods: The ERM cells were positive for CK19 indicating that they were derived from the odontogenic epithelium. Cultured ERM cells were applied centrifugal force and compressing force at one to three times as mechanical forces. After addition of forces, cells were observed using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and were measured expression of HSP70 mRNA by RT-PCR., Results: SEM observations showed the cells were flattened immediately after the application of mechanical force, but nuclear protrusions recovered the same as the control 3 h later. A significantly higher expression of HSP70 mRNA was observed in ERM cells under mechanical force compared with the control, but it gradually decreased with time. No accumulation of HSP70 mRNA expression occurred with intermittent force. However, the expression of HSP70 mRNA with intermittent force repeated 3 times was significantly higher compared with intermittent force applied only once or twice., Conclusions: These findings suggest that ERM cells express HSP70 mRNA in response to mechanical force, and that intermittent force maintains the level of HSP70 mRNA expression.

Background: Low serum amylase is likely to be associated with obesity and metabolic abnormalities, which are often accompanied by impaired insulin action. However, it is unclear whether low serum amylase is associated with impaired insulin action in clinical settings. Therefore, we investigated the associations of low serum amylase with plasma insulin levels, and obesity-related parameters, including leptin., Research Design and Methods: We measured serum amylase, plasma insulin, obesity-related parameters such as leptin, cardiometabolic risk factors, and anthropometric parameters in a cross-sectional study of 54 asymptomatic subjects (mean age 48.6 ± 7.6 years) who were not being treated for diabetes., Results: Body mass index (BMI) and plasma glucose at 120 min after a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were significantly higher in subjects with low serum amylase (< 60 IU/l, n = 21) than in those with normal-to-high serum amylase (n = 33) (P = 0.04 and P = 0.004, respectively). In univariate correlation analysis, serum amylase was significantly correlated with BMI alone (r = -0.39, P = 0.004). By contrast, multivariate logistic analysis showed that each 1-SD increase in quantitative insulin sensitivity check index, and each 1-SD decrease in plasma insulin OGTT at 0 and 60 min, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA)-R, and HOMA-β were significantly associated with low serum amylase, particularly after adjusting for BMI. When subjects were divided into three groups according to HOMA-R, serum amylase levels were significantly lower in subjects with HOMA-R > 2.5 (n = 23) compared with subjects with HOMA-R 1.6-2.5 (n = 10) (61.1 ± 13.6 U/ml versus 76.9 ± 20.5 U/ml, Bonferroni test, P = 0.02), but not compared with subjects with HOMA-R<1.6 (n = 21; 62.7 ± 17.6 U/ml). Similar trends were observed when subjects were divided according to plasma leptin and fasting plasma insulin levels., Conclusions: These results suggest that after adjusting for BMI, low serum amylase is associated with decreased basal insulin levels and insulin secretion, as well as high insulin resistance. The nature of these associations remains to be elucidated in further studies.

Background: The pancreas has dual functions as a digestive organ and as an endocrine organ, by secreting digestive enzymes and endocrine hormones. Some early studies have revealed that serum amylase levels are lower in individuals with chronic pancreatitis, severe long-term type 2 diabetes or type 1 diabetes. Regarding this issue, we recently reported that low serum amylase levels were associated with metabolic syndrome and diabetes in asymptomatic adults. In the light of this, we further investigated the fundamental relationship between serum amylase and cardiometabolic aspects by reanalyzing previous data which comprised subjects without diabetes treatment with oral hypoglycemic drugs or insulin (n = 2,344)., Findings: Serum amylase was inversely correlated with body mass index independently of age. Higher serum amylase levels were noted in older subjects aged 55 years old or more (n = 1,114) than in younger subjects (P < 0.0001, ANOVA), probably due to lower kidney function. It was likely that serum amylase may act similarly to other cardiometabolic protective factors such as high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. However, serum amylase levels were significantly lower in drinkers, particularly daily drinkers (n = 746, P < 0.0001, ANOVA). Meanwhile, despite of consistent inverse relationship between serum amylase and fasting plasma glucose, the relationship between serum amylase and HbA1c may be rather complicated in individuals with normal or mildly impaired glucose metabolism (up to HbA1c 6.0% (NGSP))., Conclusions: Revisiting the cardiometabolic relevance of serum amylase may yield novel insight not only into glucose homeostasis and metabolic abnormalities related to obesity, but also possibly carbohydrate absorption in the gut.