Association of Plasma Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein-1 (LRP1) with Undernutrition: A Case-Control Study in Bangladeshi Adults

Abstract Background: Studies revealed that LRP1 plays pivotal role in adipogenesis, whereas silencing of LRP1 expression can cause inhibition of adipogenesis in animal model and contribute to reduced body size. Therefore a reduction in the level of adipocytic LRP1 might have a role on weight loss. But there is no study that has explored the role of LRP1 on weight loss of human adults. However, it is not feasible to examine the role of adipocytic LRP1 on weight loss due to invasive collection procedure of adipose tissue. But plasma LRP1 can fill that void as it is a biomarker of adipocytic LRP1. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of plasma low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1 (LRP1) with undernutrition.Methods: A total of 270 Bangladeshi slum-dwelling adults (135 cases, BMI < 18.5 kg/m2 and 135 controls, BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m2) were enrolled. Their socio-economic, demographic, anthropometric and biomedical data were collected. Plasma LRP1, C-reactive protein (CRP), alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP), and ferritin levels were measured by ELISA, hemoglobin by Hemocue and zinc by atomic absorption spectrometry.Results: The median (IQR) values of plasma LRP1, CRP, AGP, Hemoglobin, zinc and ferritin were 1673.1 (1382.5- 1886.2) ng/ml, 2.1 (0.9 – 4.4) mg/L, 75.8 (62.9 – 95.9) mg/dL, 13.2 (12 – 14.3) g/dL, 0.74 (0.7 – 0.8) mg/L, 59.9 (26.4 – 123.2) ng/mL in healthy participants and 707.7 (588.6- 839.9) ng/ml, 0.8 (0.2 – 1.7) mg/L, 64.7 (52.9 – 86.9) mg/dL, 12.4 (11.4 – 13.4) g/dL, 0.71 (0.6 – 0.8) mg/mL, 43.7 (19.9 – 80.2) ng/mL in undernourished participants, respectively. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.70, p <0.05) between LRP1 and body mass index (BMI) was found. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed a positive association between low plasma LRP1 (Adj. OR= 0.98, CI = 0.98, 0.99 and p < 0.05) and undernutrition. Conclusions: The study found that increased level of LRP1 is associated with increased BMI, whereas lower level can contribute to low BMI.