Mid-regional-pro-adrenomedullin plasma levels are increased in obese adolescents

• Published in: European journal of nutrition Vol. 55; no. 3; pp. 1255 - 1260
• Main Authors: Del Ry, Silvia, Cabiati, Manuela, Bianchi, Vanessa, Caponi, Laura, Di Cecco, Pietro, Marchi, Benedetta, Randazzo, Emioli, Caselli, Chiara, Prescimone, Tommaso, Clerico, Aldo, Federico, Giovanni
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.04.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: adipocytes; adipokines; Adolescent; adolescents; Adrenomedullin - blood; antioxidant activity; Body Composition; Body Mass Index; Body Weight; Case-Control Studies; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Child; Cholesterol, HDL - blood; Cholesterol, LDL - blood; Female; females; Humans; insulin; Insulin - blood; low density lipoprotein cholesterol; Male; males; Nutrition; Obesity - blood; Original Contribution; patients; regression analysis; Obesity; MR-proADM; Adipokine; Adolescents
• ISSN: 1436-6207; 1436-6215; 1436-6215
• DOI: 10.1007/s00394-015-0938-6

Purpose Recently, adrenomedullin (ADM) was defined as a new member of the adipokine family. ADM secreted by adipocytes, through its vasodilator and antioxidant actions, might be protective against metabolic syndrome-associated cardiovascular complications. The aim of the study was to assess plasma mid-regional (MR)-proADM levels in obese adolescents compared to normal-weight subjects and its relation with BMI, body composition and metabolic indices. Methods Plasma MR-proADM was measured in 32 healthy adolescents [BMI z -score (mean ± SEM) = 0.6 ± 0.09 and 0.8 ± 0.07 in females and males, respectively] and in 51 age-matched obese adolescents [BMI z -score (mean ± SEM) = 2.8 ± 0.12 and 2.9 ± 0.08 in female and males, respectively] by a time-resolved amplified cryptate emission technology assay. Results Plasma MR-proADM levels resulted significantly higher in obese than in normal-weight adolescents (MR-proADM: 0.33 ± 0.1 vs 0.40 ± 0.1 nmol/L, p  < 0.0001). Using univariate analysis, we observed that MR-proADM correlated significantly with BMI z -score ( p  < 0.0001), fat mass ( p  < 0.0001), circulating insulin ( p  < 0.004), HOMA-IR ( p  < 0.005), total cholesterol ( p  < 0.03) and LDL-cholesterol ( p  < 0.05). Including MR-proADM as response variable and its significant correlates into a multiple regression analysis, we observed that fat mass ( p  = 0.014) and BMI z -score ( p  = 0.036) were independent determinants of circulating MR-proADM. Conclusions Our study shows for the first time that obese adolescents have higher circulating levels of MR-proADM compared with normal-weight, appropriate controls suggesting its important involvement in obese patients.