Peptide hormone adropin declines as diabetic kidney and heart disease worsen, with high diagnostic accuracy | Research

The takeaway

Serum adropin progressively declined across T2DM severity (0.61 ng/mL vs control), correlating with worsening kidney function, inflammation, and heart failure, with AUC >0.88 for diagnosing DKD and CHF.

AUC 0.965 for DKD+CHF
Adropin peptide shows near-perfect diagnostic accuracy for identifying diabetic patients with both kidney disease and heart failure

What the researchers found

Adropin: 0.61 ng/mL in T2DM (p significant vs controls). Correlations: HbA1c (r=-0.31), ACR (r=-0.59), CRP (r=-0.37), NT-proBNP (r=-0.44), eGFR (r=+0.31). AUC: DKD 0.946, DKD+CHF 0.965, T2DM+CHF 0.887.

Why it matters

Adropin could become a single blood test that predicts diabetic kidney and heart complications—two of the most important causes of death in diabetes. Its high diagnostic accuracy suggests clinical utility.

How the study worked

Observational case-control study. 111 participants in 3 groups. Serum adropin by ELISA. Clinical, biochemical, echocardiographic assessment. ROC analysis.

What this study cannot tell us

Small study (111 participants). Cross-sectional—cannot determine if adropin decline is cause or consequence. Single-center. Adropin assays not yet standardized.

How to read the evidence

Small case-control study with strong diagnostic performance. Needs replication and prospective validation.

When this study was published

Published in 2025.

The bigger picture

Adropin joins a growing list of peptide biomarkers for cardiorenal-metabolic disease. Its ability to track kidney, heart, and metabolic deterioration simultaneously makes it uniquely valuable for diabetic patients.

Questions still open

Could adropin supplementation prevent diabetic complications?
Should adropin be included in routine diabetic monitoring panels?
Does adropin predict response to cardiorenal-protective drugs?

Common questions

What is adropin?

Adropin is a small peptide hormone produced by the liver and brain that helps regulate metabolism and blood vessel function. This study found its blood levels drop as diabetes complications worsen, making it a potential early warning marker for kidney disease and heart failure in diabetic patients.

Could a blood test for adropin help manage diabetes?

Potentially. Adropin showed excellent diagnostic accuracy (>88%) for identifying diabetic patients with kidney disease and/or heart failure. If validated in larger studies, it could become a simple blood test to screen for dangerous diabetes complications before they become severe.

Read the original research

Adropin as a Marker in Type 2 Diabetes: Insights Into Diabetic Kidney Disease and Chronic Heart Failure.

Cureus, 17(9), e91572

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Sonkar, Satyendra K; Agrawal, Madhusudan; Sonkar, Gyanendra K; Bhosale, Vivek; Gautam, Medhavi; Pradhan, Akshay; Kumar, Satish; Bhagchandani, Deepak; Singh, Abhishek. (2025). Adropin as a Marker in Type 2 Diabetes: Insights Into Diabetic Kidney Disease and Chronic Heart Failure.. Cureus, 17(9), e91572. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.91572