Association of fat mass profile with natriuretic peptide receptor alpha in subcutaneous adipose tissue of medication-free healthy men: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Atrial natriuretic peptide increases lipolysis in human adipocytes by binding to natriuretic peptide receptor-A (NPRA). The aim of the current study was to examine the associations of NPRA mRNA of subcutaneous adipose tissue with fat mass, fat-free mass, body mass index (BMI) and arterial blood pressure in medication-free healthy men.

Method: Thirty-two volunteers [age (years): 36.06±7.36, BMI: 27.60±4.63 (kg/m ²)] underwent assessments of body height/weight, % fat mass, fat-free mass (kg), blood pressure, and a subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsy via a surgical technique.

Results: We found that NPRA mRNA was negatively associated with % fat mass (r=-0.40, R ²=0.16, p=0.03) and BMI (r=-0.45, R ²=0.20, p=0.01). Cohen’s f ² effect size analyses showed a small effect size between NPRA mRNA and BMI ( f ²=0.25). One-way analysis of variance with Bonferroni post-hoc tests showed a tendency for mean differences of NPRA mRNA across BMI categories (p=0.06). This was confirmed by Cohen’s d effect size analyses revealing a large effect size of NPRA mRNA between obese individuals (BMI≥30 kg/m ²) and either normal weight (BMI=19-25 kg/m ²; d=0.94) or overweight (BMI=25-30 kg/m ²; d=1.12) individuals.

Conclusions: NPRA mRNA is negatively associated with % fat mass and BMI in medication-free healthy men, suggesting a possible role of NPRA in the control of fat mass accumulation.