ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS Short-Term Impact of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy on Serum Cartonectin and Vaspin Levels in Obese Subjects Doaa M. Ibrahim 1 & Nagwa R. Mohamed 2 & Tarek A. Fouad 3 & Ahmed F. Soliman 1 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Background Cartonectin is a potent anti-inflammatory adipokine that might be implicated in metabolism and energy storage. Our objective was to evaluate the influence of weight reduction following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on serum cartonectin and vaspin levels. Subjects and Methods Thirty-two individuals (29 female and 3 male) with morbid obesity underwent LSG. Anthropometric indices, lipid profile, fasting serum concentrations of glucose, insulin, vaspin, and cartonectin were measured prior and 3 months after LSG. Insulin sensitivity was determined using the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Results Following LSG, circulating cartonectin level increased significantly while serum vaspin was significantly decreased. The percentage change of serum cartonectin level correlated negatively with the percentage changes in body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-hip ratio and positively with percentage changes in LDL-C, triglycerides, and HOMA-IR after adjust- ment for age and sex. Moreover, the changes in vaspin concentration positively correlated with the changes in insulin level and HOMA-IR after adjustment for age and sex. In a multiple stepwise linear regression model, the changes in waist circumference explained 13% variability of changes in cartonectin level while the changes in HOMA-IR and LDL-C were responsible for 31% of the variability in changes of vaspin level. Conclusion LSG-induced weight loss rapidly increases serum cartonectin level and decreases the serum vaspin level in morbidly obese subjects. The changes in cartonictin level seem to be influenced by the changes of waist circumference while the changes of HOMA-IR and LDL-C might be determinant factors of the changes in vaspin level. Keywords Cartonectin . Vaspin . Obesity . Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy Introduction One of the major threats to human health worldwide is obesity. Obesity is a chronic low-grade inflammatory state, associated with increased risk and onset of several complications such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia [1–3]. As an endocrine organ, adipose tissue secretes several bio- active molecules collectively named as adipokines which have effects pivotal in the pathogenesis of alterations accompanying obesity. Moreover, the metabolism of most adipokines is mark- edly dysregulated in obesity [ 4, 5]. Among adipokines expressed by adipose tissue, a relatively new and highly con- served family of secreted proteins called C1q/tumor necrosis factor-related proteins (CTRPs) was shown to have structural homologies to adiponectin [6]. C1q/tumor necrosis factor- related proteins 3 (CTRP3), also known as cartonectin, cartducin, and CORS-26, is a member of the CTRP superfam- ily and appears to have a functional role in energy storage and metabolism [7]. Cartonectin has anti-inflammatory properties that inhibit pro-inflammatory pathways induced by fatty acids, lipopolysaccharides (LPS), and Toll-like receptor (TLR) li- gands in adipocytes and monocytes [8, 9]. Furthermore, * Doaa M. Ibrahim Doaa.ibrahim@sci.asu.edu.eg 1 Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt 2 Internal Medicine and Endocrinology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt 3 Internal Medicine Department, El-Mataria Teaching Hospital, The General Organization for Teaching Hospitals and Institutes, Cairo, Egypt Obesity Surgery https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-018-3306-9