Adropin Gene Expression May Signal Diabetes Risk Before Disease Onset

Rising activity of the ENHO gene, which encodes the peptide hormone adropin, may mark an early stage on the road to type 2 diabetes, according to a new study published in Molecular Biology Reports. Researchers measured both ENHO gene expression in peripheral blood and circulating adropin levels in 107 participants: 40 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, 26 people with prediabetes, and 41 healthy controls. Their goal was to determine whether these measures could serve as biomarkers for identifying individuals at risk of progressing from prediabetes to full-blown diabetes.

The results revealed a striking split between gene expression and protein levels. ENHO expression was significantly higher in the prediabetes group than in either the healthy controls or the diabetes patients, while expression in the type 2 diabetes group was lower than in controls. Serum adropin, by contrast, was significantly elevated only in the established diabetes group, with no difference between the prediabetes and control groups.

This dissociation suggests that the gene and its protein product behave differently as metabolic disease advances. The authors interpret the elevated ENHO expression in prediabetes as a possible compensatory response. As glucose metabolism begins to falter, the body may ramp up production of adropin's genetic blueprint in an attempt to preserve metabolic balance.

Once type 2 diabetes is established, that compensatory increase appears to collapse, with expression falling below control levels, which the researchers read as a sign of disease progression rather than protection. Correlation analyses reinforced the link between these markers and glucose handling. Blood glucose was negatively correlated with ENHO expression in the prediabetes group, meaning that higher glucose readings accompanied lower gene activity.

In the diabetes group, glucose was negatively correlated with serum adropin levels. The team also measured standard biochemical parameters, including HbA1c, insulin, HOMA-IR, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL, and LDL, to characterize the metabolic state of each group. Statistical modeling pointed to ENHO expression as the more promising early-warning marker.

In logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses, ENHO expression emerged as a significant predictor of type 2 diabetes progression and demonstrated high diagnostic potential for distinguishing individuals at risk. Serum adropin's paradoxical elevation in established diabetes, the authors suggest, may reflect broader metabolic alterations that occur once the disease is manifest, rather than an early adaptive response. Because the study evaluated ENHO expression and serum adropin specifically for their potential as biomarkers of early diagnosis, the divergent patterns carry practical weight.

The findings support the idea that the gene expression measure, rather than the circulating protein, could help flag people whose metabolism is slipping toward diabetes, since only ENHO expression distinguished the prediabetes group from healthy controls. The authors themselves call for further large-scale studies to confirm whether ENHO expression can genuinely serve as a predictive biomarker in clinical practice.

Subject of Research: ENHO gene expression and serum adropin levels as potential biomarkers for type 2 diabetes in prediabetic patients

Article Title: Are adropin gene expression levels a precursor to type 2 diabetes mellitus in prediabetic patients?

Article References: Yürekli-Sarar, Z., Urhan-Küçük, M., Uçar, E., Gülbol-Duran, G., Dirican, E., & Boz, S. (2026). Are adropin gene expression levels a precursor to type 2 diabetes mellitus in prediabetic patients?. Molecular Biology Reports, 53(1), Article 1784. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-026-12965-7

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s11033-026-12965-7

Keywords: adropin, ENHO gene, type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, biomarkers, gene expression, glucose metabolism, ELISA, qPCR, HOMA-IR, diagnostic potential, Molecular Biology Reports