Adolescent obesity and ANGPTL8: correlations with high sensitivity C-reactive protein, leptin, and chemerin

Maha M Hammad; Arshad M Channanath; Mohamed Abu-Farha; Abdur Rahman; Irina Al Khairi; Preethi Cherian; Tahani Alramah; Nada Alam-Eldin; Fahd Al-Mulla; Thangavel Alphonse Thanaraj; Jehad Abubaker

doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1314211

Adolescent obesity and ANGPTL8: correlations with high sensitivity C-reactive protein, leptin, and chemerin

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Dec 22:14:1314211. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1314211. eCollection 2023.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
² Genetics and Bioinformatics Department, Dasman Diabetes Institute, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
³ Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, Dasman Diabetes Institute, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
⁴ Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Life Sciences, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Angiopoietin-like proteins (ANGPTLs) mediate many metabolic functions. We had recently reported increased plasma levels of ANGPTL8 in obese adults of Arab ethnicity. However, data on ANGPTL8 levels in adolescent obesity is lacking. Arab population is characterized by a rapid transition, due to sudden wealth seen in the post-oil era, in lifestyle, food habits and extent of physical activity. We adopted a cross-sectional study on Arab adolescents from Kuwait to examine the role of ANGPTL8 in adolescent obesity. The study cohort included 452 adolescents, aged 11-14 years, recruited from Middle Schools across Kuwait. BMI-for-age growth charts were used to categorize adolescents as normal-weight, overweight, and obese. ELISA and bead-based multiplexing assays were used to measure plasma levels of ANGPTL8 and other inflammation and obesity-related biomarkers. Data analysis showed significant differences in the plasma levels of ANGPTL8 among the three subgroups, with a significant increase in overweight and obese children compared to normal-weight children. This observation persisted even when the analysis was stratified by sex. Multinomial logistic regression analysis illustrated that adolescents with higher levels of ANGPTL8 were 7 times more likely to become obese and twice as likely to be overweight. ANGPTL8 levels were correlated with those of hsCRP, leptin and chemerin. ANGPTL8 level had a reasonable prognostic power for obesity with an AUC of 0.703 (95%-CI=0.648-0.759). These observations relating to increased ANGPTL8 levels corresponding to increased BMI-for-age z-scores indicate that ANGPTL8, along with hsCRP, leptin and chemerin, could play a role in the early stages of obesity development in children. ANGPTL8 is a potential early marker for adolescent obesity and is associated with well-known obesity and inflammatory markers.

Keywords: Arab ethnicity; adolescents; angiopoietin-like protein 8; chemerin; high sensitivity C-reactive protein; leptin; obesity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Angiopoietin-Like Protein 8* / blood
C-Reactive Protein
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Leptin
Overweight
Pediatric Obesity*
Peptide Hormones*

Substances

Angiopoietin-Like Protein 8
ANGPTL8 protein, human
C-Reactive Protein
Leptin
Peptide Hormones

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was funded by Dasman Diabetes Institute, project No. RA HM2017-026 and Kuwait University, Project No. WF02/13.