Inflammatory Marker Levels Established In Specific Obese Adolescents

Levels of inflammatory biomarkers in the blood have been measured in obese adolescents who are glucose intolerant and possibly prediabetic.

Increased levels of systemic inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) and elevated pteridine derivatives as well as specific enzyme levels may be influenced by glucose intolerance.

At the Ege University, (Izmir, Turkey) scientists performed oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) on 45 pubertal obese children, 23 girls and 22 boys with a mean age of 13.52 years. Biochemical analyses were performed on the sample collection day, that included glucose, insulin, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), apolipoprotein AI (Apo A), apolipoprotein B100 (Apo B), CRP, IL-6, neopterin levels, complete blood count and chitotriosidase activities. Serum chitotriosidase activity was measured by a fluorescence method and fasting serum concentrations of IL-6 and neopterin were determined by the use of commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA).

In 21 children, normal glucose tolerance (NGT) was observed being defined as fasting glucose levels of less than 5.6 mmol/L and two hour glucose levels of less than 7.8 mmol/L. Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) was found in 24 children where after the OGTT, the two hour glucose levels were between 7.8 and 11.1 mmol/L. The IL-6 and CRP levels were similar in the two groups. There was no significant difference in the lipid profiles or serum neopterin levels between the groups. However, the chitotriosidase activity was significantly higher in the IGT group at 124.33 ± 51.97 μmol/L/hour than the NGT group where the mean activity was 84.50 ± 53.99 μmol/L/hour. The chitotriosidase activity was measured on the F-2500 fluorometer (Hitachi Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). The fasting serum concentrations of IL-6 was determined by the ELISA kit from DIA Source (Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium) and neopterin levels with an ELISA from DRG Instruments, (Marburg, Germany).

Activated macrophages secrete several proteins, like neopterin and chitotriosidase, which could influence the atherosclerotic process, leading to a local inflammation in the vessel wall. The authors concluded that the results of their study show that serum chitotriosidase activity is increased in obese adolescents with impaired glucose tolerance. Impaired glucose tolerant state is an important period in which atherosclerotic lesions start to emerge. The results demonstrate that the existence of glucose intolerance may aggravate the local inflammation, which mainly occurs in the vascular bed in obese children. The study was published in the March 2012 issue of the journal Clinical Biochemistry.

Related Links:
Ege University
Hitachi Ltd.
DIA Source