Son Hyun-Hwa, Kim Shin Hye, Moon Ju-Yeon, Chung Bong Chul, Park Mi Jung, Choi Man Ho
Future Convergence Research Division, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 136-791, Republic of Korea.
Department of Pediatrics, Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital, Seoul 139-707, Republic of Korea.
J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2015 May;149:138-45. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2015.02.012. Epub 2015 Feb 25.
Quantitative sterol profiling in obese children and their clinical implications have not been fully investigated. The aim of study was to evaluate the metabolic changes in serum cholesterol and its precursors and metabolites, and their associations with clinical characteristics of childhood obesity. A total of 253 children aged 6-14 years (72 obese, 39 overweight, and 72 normal controls; 147 girls and 106 boys) were recruited. Anthropometric indices, body composition, and fasting total lipid profiles were determined. Serum concentrations of 20 sterols, as their free fraction, were analyzed through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolite profiling. There were no significant differences in total- and LDL-cholesterols between groups. Serum levels of the main cholesterol precursors, lanosterol (P<0.02) and lathosterol (P<0.0001), were significantly higher in obese children. In addition, they showed positive correlations with waist to hip ratio, body fat percent, and body fat mass. The metabolic ratios of lanosterol and lathosterol to cholesterol were also elevated (P<0.01 both), indicating the up-regulation of cholesterol biosynthesis with childhood obesity. In contrast, the absorption of plant sterols tended to show a compensatory decrease in obese children. Strong correlations between free cholesterol and total- and LDL-cholesterols were observed (r>0.760, P<0.001), while there was no correlation with HDL-cholesterols. The levels of total cholesteryl ester were closely associated with triglyceride (r=0.763, P<0.001). Quantitative results indicate that childhood obesity may increase cholesterol synthesis while maintaining overall cholesterol homeostasis.
肥胖儿童的定量甾醇分析及其临床意义尚未得到充分研究。本研究的目的是评估血清胆固醇及其前体和代谢产物的代谢变化，以及它们与儿童肥胖临床特征的关联。共招募了253名6至14岁的儿童（72名肥胖儿童、39名超重儿童和72名正常对照儿童；147名女孩和106名男孩）。测定了人体测量指标、身体成分和空腹总血脂谱。通过基于气相色谱-质谱的代谢物分析，分析了20种甾醇的血清游离浓度。各组之间的总胆固醇和低密度脂蛋白胆固醇无显著差异。肥胖儿童血清中主要胆固醇前体羊毛甾醇（P<0.02）和胆甾烷醇（P<0.0001）的水平显著更高。此外，它们与腰臀比、体脂百分比和体脂量呈正相关。羊毛甾醇和胆甾烷醇与胆固醇的代谢率也升高（均P<0.01），表明儿童肥胖时胆固醇生物合成上调。相比之下，肥胖儿童中植物甾醇的吸收倾向于呈代偿性下降。观察到游离胆固醇与总胆固醇和低密度脂蛋白胆固醇之间存在强相关性（r>0.760，P<0.001），而与高密度脂蛋白胆固醇无相关性。总胆固醇酯水平与甘油三酯密切相关（r=0.763，P<0.001）。定量结果表明，儿童肥胖可能会增加胆固醇合成，同时维持整体胆固醇稳态。
