Remigante Alessia, Spinelli Sara, Rizzo Gianluca, Caruso Daniele, Marino Angela, Straface Elisabetta, Dossena Silvia, Morabito Rossana
Department of Biomedical, Dental and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Jun 13;26(12):5665. doi: 10.3390/ijms26125665.
Type II diabetes mellitus (T2D) is a metabolic disorder. Childhood overweight or obesity raises the risk for developing T2D later in life. Early identification of at-risk individuals is fundamental for disease prevention and patient management. The scope of this pilot study was to explore whether leukocyte protein O-GlcNAc modification is elevated in an overweight pediatric cohort. Eight overweight and eight normal-weight children aged 3-13 years were recruited at the Papardo General Hospital (Messina, Italy). Physical exams, complete blood tests, and determination of leukocyte protein O-GlcNAcylation were carried out. Protein O-GlcNAcylation was higher in leucocytes from overweight children compared to normal-weight children, and was significantly correlated with BMI, metabolic markers (LDL-cholesterol/triglycerides), and the inflammatory marker CRP. This study suggests that leukocyte protein O-GlcNAcylation may represent a novel biomarker for the early detection of metabolic abnormalities that may lead to the development of pre-diabetes or T2D later in life.
2型糖尿病（T2D）是一种代谢紊乱疾病。儿童期超重或肥胖会增加日后患2型糖尿病的风险。早期识别高危个体是疾病预防和患者管理的基础。这项初步研究的目的是探讨在超重的儿科队列中白细胞蛋白O-连接N-乙酰葡糖胺修饰是否升高。在意大利墨西拿的帕帕尔多综合医院招募了8名超重和8名体重正常的3至13岁儿童。进行了体格检查、全血细胞检测以及白细胞蛋白O-连接N-乙酰葡糖胺化的测定。与体重正常的儿童相比，超重儿童白细胞中的蛋白O-连接N-乙酰葡糖胺化水平更高，并且与体重指数、代谢标志物（低密度脂蛋白胆固醇/甘油三酯）以及炎症标志物CRP显著相关。这项研究表明，白细胞蛋白O-连接N-乙酰葡糖胺化可能代表一种新型生物标志物，用于早期检测可能导致日后发生糖尿病前期或2型糖尿病的代谢异常。
