Nampt (visfatin) associations with insulin metabolism are secondary to strong associations with BMI in children

Rationale: Nampt, also named visfatin, is an important enzyme in cellular NAD metabolism. Besides expression in adipose tissue, Nampt circulates in human serum and was hypothesized to be involved in the regulation of insulin secretion. There are only sparse data on Nampt association with obesity or insulin metabolism in humans applying valid assay systems. In this study we evaluated Nampt levels in normal lean children and adolescents compared to obese children and the relationship with metabolic and cardiovascular comorbidities. Results: In a cohort of n=138 healthy lean children, Nampt levels were not differen…