Passadore Mariana Doce, Azinheira Nobrega Cruz Nayara, Bocato Mariana Zuccherato, Ferreira Leonardo de Abreu, Icimoto Marcelo Yudi, Molina Maria Del Carmen Bisi, Mill José Geraldo, Barbosa Junior Fernando, Casarini Dulce Elena, de Oliveira Lilian Caroline Gonçalves
Postgraduation Program of Nephrology, Nephrology Division, Department of Medicine, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP/EPM), Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Postgraduation Program of Translational Medicine, Nephrology Division, Department of Medicine, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP/EPM), Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Front Physiol. 2025 Apr 29;16:1524939. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1524939. eCollection 2025.
Amino acids are fundamental in several metabolic processes, and their levels can reflect metabolism impairments that contribute to obesity and related diseases. Our objective was to identify a urinary amino acid fingerprint in obese and overweight children in prepuberty and to correlate this profile with cardiometabolic alterations.
The study included 110 children, boys and girls aged 9-10 years, they were classified according to their BMI-for-age (Body Mass Index for age) into three groups: normal weight (NW) (n = 45), overweight (OW) (n = 21), and obese (OB) (n = 44). The 12-h urine samples were analyzed by LC-MS/MS to quantify 47 amino acids using the (Zivak®, Turkey), values were corrected by creatinine concentration. Anthropometric measurements, cardiovascular parameters, and biochemical profiles were assessed following standard protocols.
When compared to NW, anthropometric measures, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and serum uric acid levels were progressively elevated in the OW and OB groups. The OB group was characterized by elevated alpha-aminoadipic acid, asparagine, cystathionine, 1-methyl-histidine, serine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, and tyrosine. In contrast, the OW group presented the most expressive levels of glutamine, alpha-diaminopimelic, and sarcosine.
Our findings indicate that obese and overweight children exhibit a particular urinary amino acid fingerprint which is similar to that reported in studies with plasma. The altered amino acids, particularly tyrosine, are frequently associated with impairments in glucose homeostasis, insulin resistance, and diabetes mellitus type 2. Potential mechanisms for increasing the levels of these amino acids in excess of weight may include enhanced protein degradation and impaired oxidative metabolism.
氨基酸在多个代谢过程中起着基础性作用，其水平能够反映出导致肥胖及相关疾病的代谢损伤。我们的目标是确定青春期前肥胖和超重儿童的尿氨基酸指纹图谱，并将该图谱与心脏代谢改变相关联。
该研究纳入了110名9至10岁的儿童，包括男孩和女孩，根据他们的年龄别BMI（年龄别体重指数）分为三组：正常体重（NW）（n = 45）、超重（OW）（n = 21）和肥胖（OB）（n = 44）。使用（Zivak®，土耳其）通过液相色谱-串联质谱法分析12小时尿液样本，以定量47种氨基酸，数值通过肌酐浓度进行校正。按照标准方案评估人体测量指标、心血管参数和生化指标。
与NW组相比，OW组和OB组的人体测量指标、收缩压和舒张压以及血清尿酸水平逐渐升高。OB组的特征是α-氨基己二酸、天冬酰胺、胱硫醚、1-甲基组氨酸、丝氨酸、色氨酸、苯丙氨酸和酪氨酸升高。相比之下，OW组的谷氨酰胺、α-二氨基庚二酸和肌氨酸水平表现最为明显。
我们的研究结果表明，肥胖和超重儿童表现出一种特殊的尿氨基酸指纹图谱，这与血浆研究中报道的相似。氨基酸改变，尤其是酪氨酸，经常与葡萄糖稳态受损、胰岛素抵抗和2型糖尿病有关。体重超标导致这些氨基酸水平升高的潜在机制可能包括蛋白质降解增强和氧化代谢受损。
