AUTHOR=Bugajska Jolanta , Berska Joanna , Wójcik Małgorzata , Sztefko Krystyna 

TITLE=Amino acid profile in overweight and obese prepubertal children – can simple biochemical tests help in the early prevention of associated comorbidities?

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2023.1274011

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2023.1274011

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=Background: It is accepted that plasma branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and aromatic amino acids (AAAs) are closely related to metabolic risk. Arterial hypertension, metabolic syndrome, endothelial dysfunction, inflammation and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) are frequently seen in obese patients. Many attempts have been made in order to find out biochemical indicators for the early detection of metabolic complications in children. It is not known if different amino acids profile, BCAAs and AAs concentrations in overweight and obese children correlate with chemerin, proinflammatory and simple biochemical markers. Thus, the aim of the study was to find out the early markers of cardiovascular disease and MAFLD in overweight and obese children.The study included 20 overweight and obese children (M/F 12/8; mean age 7.7±2.3 years; BMI 26.8±5.0 kg/m 2 ) and 12 non-obese children (control group) (M/F 4/8; mean age 6.5±2.2 years; BMI 14.8±1.5 kg/m 2 ). The following plasma amino acids were measured: aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine, asparagine, glycine, glutamine, taurine, histidine, citrulline, threonine, alanine, arginine, proline, tyrosine, methionine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, ornithine and lysine. Chemerin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and basic biochemistry parameters were measured.Results: The mean plasma levels of leucine, isoleucine, valine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, glutamic acid, and alanine were significantly higher in overweight and obese children than in the control group (p<0.03-p<0.0004). Conversely, the mean values of serine, asparagine, glutamine, and citrulline were significantly lower in overweight and obese children than in the controls (p<0.03-p<0.0007). Isoleucine, leucine, valine (BCAAs) and tyrosine, phenylalanine (AAAs) levels showed a positive correlation with uric acid, ALT, hs-CRP, and chemerin (r=0.80-0.36; p<0.05-p<0.00001), but not with IL-6. The mean values of glucose, IL-6, hs-CRP, chemerin, uric acid, and ALT were significantly higher in overweight and obese children than in the control group (p<0.03-p<0.00002). In contrast, lipids profile did not differ between groups.Conclusions: Abnormal amino acids profile in overweight and obese, prepubertal children , accompanied by elevated ALT and UA observed in the studied cohort may suggest early metabolic disturbances that can potentially lead to metabolic syndrome or MAFLD, and increased cardiovascular risk.