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Published on: June 11, 2012
Short- and Long-Term Effects of Weight Loss on the Complement Component C3 After Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass in Obese
Segundo Á Gómez-Abril1, Carlos Morillas-Ariño2, Jose L Ponce-Marco3
1Department of General and Digestive Surgery, University Hospital Doctor Peset-FISABIO, Valencia, Spain.
Insights
Gastric bypass surgery significantly reduced C3c levels, a cardiometabolic risk factor, and this reduction was sustained for five years. C3c levels correlated with BMI and insulin, suggesting a role in metabolic health.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Obesity Research
Background:
- The C3 complement component (C3c) is recognized as a cardiometabolic risk factor.
- Its changes following gastric bypass surgery for weight loss remain under investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of laparoscopic gastric bypass on C3c levels in obese patients.
- To assess the long-term changes in C3c and its correlation with metabolic parameters post-surgery.
Main Methods:
- 66 obese patients underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass.
- Anthropometric and biochemical parameters, including C3c, were measured at baseline, 1 year, and 5 years post-surgery.
Main Results:
- Significant improvements in most parameters were observed, with 84% metabolic syndrome remission at 5 years.
- High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and C3c levels decreased significantly and were maintained long-term.
- C3c correlated with BMI and insulin at all time points, and was independently associated with BMI, liver enzymes, and cholesterol levels.
Conclusions:
- C3c may serve as a marker for the chronic inflammation associated with insulin resistance.
- The association of C3c with BMI and liver enzymes highlights its role in metabolic activity.
- Further research is required to elucidate the molecular mechanisms and physiological significance of C3c in metabolic health.
Background:
The C3 complement component (C3c) is increasingly recognized as a cardiometabolic risk factor, but how it is affected after weight loss through gastric bypass is a question yet to be answered.
Methods:
A total of 66 obese patients underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass. Anthropometric parameters, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, liver enzymes, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and C3c levels were evaluated at baseline and at 1 and 5 years post-surgery.
Results:
All anthropometric and biochemical parameters improved significantly after surgery, although a deterioration was detected with respect to the percentage of excess of weight loss, insulin, TC, LDLc, and lactate dehydrogenase 5 years post-surgery. Despite this, a remission rate of 84 % was observed in the presence of metabolic syndrome after 5 years follow-up. hsCRP and C3c were reduced significantly after surgery and maintained throughout the experimental period. In addition, C3c was correlated with BMI and insulin at all time points. The multivariate regression model, in which C3c was a dependent variable, revealed that aspartate aminotransferase and BMI were independent variables at baseline, alkaline phosphatase and insulin were independent at 1 year post-surgery, and insulin, BMI, and TC were independent at 5 years post-surgery.
Conclusions:
C3c may be a marker of the chronic inflammatory process underlying insulin resistance. Its association with BMI and liver enzymes supports a major role in metabolic activity, although future research is needed to clarify the nature of the molecular mechanisms involved and the physiological significance of these findings.

