Simultaneous evaluation of metabolomic and inflammatory biomarkers in children with different body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)

Abstract

Metabolic disturbances and systemic pro-inflammatory changes have been reported in children with obesity. However, it is unclear the time-sequence of metabolic or inflammatory modifications during children obesity evolution. Our study aimed to quantify simultaneously metabolomic and inflammatory biomarkers in serum from children with different levels of adiposity. For this purpose, a cross-sectional study was used to perform targeted metabolomics and inflammatory cytokines measurements. Serum samples from children between six to ten years old were analyzed using either body mass index (BMI) or waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) classifications. One hundred and sixty-eight school-aged children were included. BMI classification in children with overweight or obesity showed altered concentrations of glucose and amino acids (glycine and tyrosine). Children classified by WHtR exhibited imbalances in amino acids (glycine, valine, and tyrosine) and lipids (triacyl glycerides and low-density lipoprotein) compared to control group. No differences in systemic inflammation biomarkers or in the prevalence of other results were found in these children. Abnormal arterial blood pressure was found in 32% of children with increased adiposity. In conclusion, obesity in school-aged children is characterized by significant metabolic modifications that are not accompanied by major disturbances in circulating concentrations of inflammatory biomarkers.

Paediatric obesity: a systematic review and pathway mapping of metabolic alterations underlying early disease processes

“…Despite, all included studies that reported on non-esterified fatty acids noted increased circulating values. This could result from their release by saturated adipocytes into the blood stream, leading to lipotoxicity, and in turn, interfering in a vicious way with insulin-responsive metabolic pathways (Chavira-Suárez et al 2020 ). This is, higher levels of non-esterified fatty acids have been reported to activate immune and oxidative stress pathways (Fig.…”

“…Lipogenesis). This could be reflective of increased rates of lipogenesis and concordant overproduction of ROS, pro-inflammatory prostaglandins and adipokines and altered nitric oxide (Chavira-Suárez et al 2020 ), thereby inflecting immune response (Fig. 3 , 5.…”

“…3 , 8. Urea cycle) were observed (Suzuki et al 2019 ; Butte et al 2015 ; Cho et al 2017 ; Lee et al 2018 ; Chavira-Suárez et al 2020 ; Martos-Moreno et al 2017 ; Moran-Ramos et al 2017 ; Short et al 2019 ; Perng et al 2019 ; Tepper et al 2016 ; Mangge et al 2016 ). A disrupted metabolism of arginine and proline (Additional file 1 : Fig.…”

Metabolite profiles and the risk of metabolic syndrome in early childhood: a case-control study

“…Both tyrosine and alanine were previously found as potential early markers for the onset of insulin resistance and were positively associated with adiposity in children of various ethnicities [19,20,22,23,40]. In fact, Hellmuth et al postulated that tyrosine elevations in obese children precede elevations in branched chain amino acids [41].…”

“…Few studies have investigated pediatric metabolic disorders using metabolomics and have primarily focused on single risk factors, in particular obesity and insulin resistance [16][17][18][19][20]. Only three metabolomics studies derived an internal (study-specific) continuous MetS zscore, and all were conducted in adolescents and older children (10 years and up) [21][22][23].…”