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- Barchetta, Ilaria, et al.
(författare)
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Circulating pro-neurotensin levels predict bodyweight gain and metabolic alterations in children
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases. - : Elsevier BV. - 0939-4753. ; 31:3, s. 902-910
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and aims: Neurotensin (NT) is an intestinal peptide released after fat ingestion, which regulates appetite and facilitates lipid absorption. Elevated plasma levels of its stable precursor pro-neurotensin (pro-NT) are associated with type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular mortality in adult populations; no data on pro-NT and metabolic disease are available in children. Aim of the study was to evaluate plasma pro-NT in relation to the presence of obesity in children, and to test if high pro-NT associates with the development of metabolic impairment later in life. Methods and results: For this longitudinal retrospective study, we studied 151 overweight/obese children undergoing metabolic evaluations at University of Cagliari, Italy. Pro-NT was also assessed in 46 normal-weight, age-, sex-comparable normal-weight children, selected as a reference group. At the baseline, pro-NT was comparable between overweight/obese and normal-weight children and correlated positively with age (p < 0.001), triglycerides (p < 0.001) and inversely with HDL levels (p = 0.008). Plasma pro-NT associated with high triglycerides with OR = 5.9 (95%CI: 1.24–28.1; p = 0.026) after adjustment for multiple confounders. At the 6.5-year follow-up, high basal pro-NT associated with impaired β-cell function to compensate for insulin-resistance (disposition index: r = −0.19, p = 0.035) and predicted bodyweight increase, as indicated by percentage change of standard deviation score BMI (median(95%CI) = +20.8(+4.9-+27.5)% in the highest tertile), independently from age, sex, triglycerides and insulin-resistance (standardized β = 0.24; p = 0.036). Conclusions: Elevated pro-NT levels in children are significantly associated with weight gain later in life and may represent a marker of susceptibility to metabolic impairment in presence of obesity.
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| 2. |
- Sentinelli, Federica, et al.
(författare)
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Association of FTO polymorphisms with early age of obesity in obese Italian subjects
- 2012
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Ingår i: Experimental Diabetes Research. - : Hindawi Limited. - 1687-5214 .- 1687-5303. ; 2012
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Obesity is recognized as a major health problem worldwide. Genetic factors play a major role in obesity, and genomewide association studies have provided evidence that several common variants within the fat mass- and obesity-associated (FTO) gene are significantly associated with obesity. Very limited data is available on FTO in the Italian population. Aims of our study are to investigate: (1) the association of FTO gene SNPs rs9939609 and rs9930506 with body mass index (BMI) and obesity-related parameters in a large cohort (n=752) of Italian obese subjects; (2) the association between the two FTO SNPs and age of onset of obesity. Our results demonstrate a strong association between FTO SNPs rs9939609 (P<0.043) and rs9930506 (P<0.029) with BMI in the Italian population. FTO rs9930506 was significantly associated with higher BMI in a G allele dose-dependent manner (BMI+1.4kg/m2per G allele). We also observed that the association with BMI of the two FTO variants varied with age, with the carriers of the risk alleles developing an increase in body weight earlier in life. In conclusion, our study further demonstrates a role of the genetic variability in FTO on BMI in a large Italian population. Copyright © 2012 Federica Sentinelli et al.
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| 3. |
- Sentinelli, Federica, et al.
(författare)
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Lack of effect of apolipoprotein C3 polymorphisms on indices of liver steatosis, lipid profile and insulin resistance in obese Southern Europeans
- 2011
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Ingår i: Lipids in Health and Disease. - 1476-511X. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Abstract Background Apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3) is a component of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, and APOC3 rs2854116 and rs2854117 polymorphisms have been associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hypertriglyceridaemia, and insulin-resistance. Objective To determine if the APOC3 variants alter the susceptibility of obese subjects to develop liver damage, hypertrigliceridaemia, and insulin-resistance. Methods The study was carried out on 585 unrelated obese Italians (median body mass index BMI = 41 kg/m2) who were genotyped for the rs2854116 and rs2854117 variants. All participants underwent oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT), with measurement of glucose, insulin, lipid parameters. Indices of insulin-resistance (HOMA and ISI) were calculated. Alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) were used as markers of liver injury. Results The study subjects were divided into two groups: those homozygous for the wild-type alleles at both SNPs (-482C and -455T alleles) and those who were carriers of at least one variant allele or both (-482T, -455C or both). Also each SNP was analysed independently. No significant differences were found in ALT and AST levels and in the lipid profile between the two groups. Insulin concentrations, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity were similar in the two groups. Conclusion We did not identify any significant association between APOC3 polymorphisms and fatty liver disease, lipids, and insulin-resistance in obese subjects, thus not confirming the suggested role of these APOC3 gene sequence variants.
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| 4. |
- Sentinelli, Federica, et al.
(författare)
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Neurotensin Gene rs2234762 C>G Variant Associates with Reduced Circulating Pro-NT Levels and Predicts Lower Insulin Resistance in Overweight/Obese Children
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-6596 .- 1422-0067. ; 24:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Neurotensin (NT) is a small protein implicated in the regulation of energy balance which acts as both a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and as a gastrointestinal peptide. In the gut, NT is secreted after fat ingestion and promotes the absorption of fatty acids. The circulating levels of its precursor, pro-NT, predicts the presence and development of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Despite the extensive knowledge on the dynamic changes that occur to pro-NT = after fat load, the determinants of fasting pro-NT are unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the possible genetic regulation of plasma pro-NT. The NT gene (NTS) was sequenced for potential functional variants, evaluating its entire genomic and potentially regulatory regions, in DNA from 28 individuals, stratified by low and high pro-NT levels. The identified variant differently distributed in the two pro-NT subgroups was genotyped in a cohort of nine hundred and thirty-two overweight/obese children and adolescents. A total of seven sequence variations across the NTS gene, none of them located in coding regions, were identified. The rs2234762 polymorphism, sited in the NTS gene promoter, was statistically more frequent in the lowest pro-NTS level group. Carriers of the rs2234762 variant showed lower pro-NT levels, after adjusting for sex, age, BMI, triglycerides and the Tanner stage. Having NTS rs2234762 predicted less pronounced insulin resistance at the 6.5-year follow-up with OR: 0.46 (0.216–0.983), at the logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex and BMI. In conclusion, the NTS rs2234762 gene variant is a determinant of reduced circulating pro-NT levels in overweight and obese children, which predisposes this group to a more favorable metabolic profile and a reduced insulin resistance later in life, independently from metabolic confounders.
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