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Increased serum cholesteryl ester transfer protein in obese children
Kohtaro Asayama1, Hidemasa Hayashibe, Kazushige Dobashi
1Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu, Japan. kasayama@med.uoeh-u.ac.jp
Insights
Serum cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) is elevated in obese children and linked to unhealthy cholesterol levels. Weight loss in obese children led to a significant decrease in CETP levels.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Cardiovascular Risk Factors
- Adipose Tissue Biology
Background:
- Adipose tissue secretes physiologically active proteins, including cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP).
- Obesity in children is associated with dyslipidemia and increased cardiovascular risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if serum CETP levels are elevated in obese children.
- To determine the association between serum CETP and atherogenic lipoprotein profiles in this population.
Main Methods:
- Serum CETP mass was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 42 obese and 25 non-obese Japanese children.
- Anthropometric measurements and blood parameters (lipids, apolipoproteins, insulin) were analyzed.
- CETP levels were re-assessed in obese children who underwent weight loss therapy.
Main Results:
- Obese children exhibited significantly higher levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, TC/HDL-C ratio, apo B, apo B/apo A(1), and insulin compared to reference values.
- Serum CETP levels were approximately double in obese children (98.7 nM) compared to controls (50.9 nM) (p < 0.001).
- A significant decrease in CETP levels was observed in obese children who lost weight, and CETP correlated with HDL-C, TC/HDL-C, insulin, and percentage of overweight.
Conclusions:
- Serum CETP is increased in obese children.
- Elevated CETP levels in obese children are associated with an atherogenic lipoprotein profile.
- Therapeutic weight loss in obese children can lead to a reduction in CETP levels.
Objective:
To determine whether serum cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), which is one of the physiologically active gene products secreted from adipose tissue, is increased and associated with atherogenic lipoprotein profile in obese children.
Research Methods And Procedures:
Subjects were 42 consecutive outpatient Japanese obese children, 29 boys and 13 girls, ranging in age from 5 to 14 years, and 25 age-matched non-obese children, 13 boys and 12 girls, as the control group for measuring CETP mass. Blood was drawn after an overnight fast and, at the same time, and anthropometric measurements including height, body weight, waist girth, hip girth, and triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses were taken. Paired samples were obtained from 15 obese children who underwent psychoeducational therapy. Serum CETP mass was assayed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results:
The serum levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, TC/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), apolipoproteins (apo) B, apo B/apo A(1), and insulin in obese children were significantly higher than the respective reference values. Serum CETP level was approximately 2-fold higher (98.7 +/- 3.6 vs. 50.9 +/- 4.0 nM, means +/- SEM, p < 0.001) in the obese children than in the controls. In 15 obese children, whose percentage of overweight declined during therapy, CETP levels decreased significantly. CETP level was correlated with HDLC, TC/HDLC, and insulin, and with percentage of overweight when the data of the obese and non-obese children were combined.
Discussion:
CETP is increased and associated with the atherogenic lipoprotein profile in obese children.