Branched-chain Amino Acids and Relationship With Inflammation in Youth With Obesity: A Randomized Controlled...

Elevated concentrations of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) are strong predictors of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Their association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains uncertain, particularly in youth.

We investigated the role of BCAA and aromatic amino acids (AAA) in obesity, their relationships with novel biomarkers of CVD, and response to a physical activity-based lifestyle intervention (PAL-I) in a randomized controlled study in youth with normal weight (NW) and obesity (OB).

Age (14-18 years) and Tanner stage (≥IV) matched youth (OB, n = 15 and NW, n = 6) were studied; the 15 participants with OB underwent a 3-month randomized controlled PAL-I. Circulating amino acid profile, glucose, insulin, lipids, adiponectin, retinol binding protein-4, fibrinogen, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and 25-hydroxy vitamin-D, along with body composition, were measured at baseline and after PAL-I. Independent t tests, analysis of covariance, and mixed-effect models were used for analysis of the data.

Compared with NW, the concentration of various amino acids, including BCAA and AAA, were altered in OB (P < 0.05). BCAA and AAA showed baseline correlations with body composition and novel biomarkers of CVD, particularly inflammatory factors (all P < 0.05). The PAL-I produced only negligible effects (P > 0.05) on BCAA and AAA. Glutamine, glycine, and aspartic acid decreased with PAL-I (all P < 0.05).

The novel finding of the BCAA-inflammation relationship, along with strong correlations with nontraditional biomarkers of CVD, may raise the prospect of BCAA as a biomarker of CVD and evoke a potential link between obesity, T2DM, and CVD.