Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Clinic of Pediatric Endocrinology, Eskişehir, Turkey
J Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol. 2023 May 29;15(2):182-189. doi: 10.4274/jcrpe.galenos.2023.2022-6-6. Epub 2023 Feb 2.
Genetic studies of familial central precocious puberty (CPP) have suggested that makorin ring finger protein 3 (MKRN3) is the primary inhibitor of gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion. Obesity in girls can cause early puberty by affecting the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. This study evaluated serum MKRN3 levels of patients with CPP and its relationship with body mass index (BMI).
The study included 92 CPP and 86 prepubertal healthy controls (HC) aged 6-10 years. The CPP and HC groups were divided into obese and non-obese subgroups to evaluate whether BMI affects MKRN3. Patients’ presenting complaints, chronological age, height age, bone age, Tanner stage, standard deviation scores for weight, height, and BMI, levels of follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, estradiol, and MKRN3, and pelvic ultrasonography findings were recorded.
Serum MKRN3 levels were lower in the CPP group and lowest in the CPP-obese subgroup. There were significant differences in MKRN3 levels between the CPP-obese and CPP-normal weight (p=0.02), CPP-obese and HC-obese (p<0.001), and CPP-obese and HCnormal weight (p=0.03) groups. MKRN3 and BMI were negatively correlated in all cases (r=-0.326, p<0.001).
The negative correlation between BMI and MKRN3, and lower MKRN3 levels in CPP-obese patients, suggests that adipose tissue has a role in the onset of puberty. More comprehensive studies are needed to determine the relationship between MKRN3 and adipose tissue.
家族性中枢性性早熟（CPP）的遗传研究表明，泛素相关蛋白 3（MKRN3）是促性腺激素释放激素分泌的主要抑制因子。女孩肥胖可通过影响下丘脑-垂体-性腺轴导致性早熟。本研究评估了 CPP 患者的血清 MKRN3 水平及其与体重指数（BMI）的关系。
本研究纳入了 92 例 CPP 患者和 86 例 6-10 岁的青春期前健康对照者（HC）。将 CPP 和 HC 组分为肥胖和非肥胖亚组，以评估 BMI 是否影响 MKRN3。记录患者的主要症状、实际年龄、身高年龄、骨龄、Tanner 分期、体重、身高和 BMI 的标准差评分、卵泡刺激素、黄体生成素、雌二醇和 MKRN3 水平以及盆腔超声检查结果。
CPP 组的血清 MKRN3 水平较低，而 CPP 肥胖亚组的水平最低。CPP 肥胖亚组与 CPP 正常体重亚组（p=0.02）、CPP 肥胖亚组与 HC 肥胖亚组（p<0.001）以及 CPP 肥胖亚组与 HC 正常体重亚组（p=0.03）之间的 MKRN3 水平存在显著差异。MKRN3 与 BMI 在所有病例中均呈负相关（r=-0.326，p<0.001）。
BMI 与 MKRN3 呈负相关，且 CPP 肥胖患者的 MKRN3 水平较低，表明脂肪组织在性早熟的发生中起作用。需要更全面的研究来确定 MKRN3 与脂肪组织之间的关系。
