Adenovirus-36 Seropositivity and Its Relation with Obesity and Metabolic Profile in Children

Abstract

The human adenovirus 36 (Ad-36) is causally and correlatively associated in animals and humans, respectively, with increased adiposity and altered metabolic profile. In previous studies, the relationship between Ad-36 seropositivity with obesity was established in adults and children. We evaluated the association of positive antibodies to Ad-36 with obesity and metabolic profile in Mexican children. Seventy-five children with normal-weight and 82 with obesity were studied in this research. All children had a clinic assessment which included weight, height, body circumferences, and skinfold thickness. Laboratory analyzes included triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and glucose and insulin levels. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine the antibodies to Ad-36 in the serum samples. The overall Ad-36 seroprevalence was 73.9%. Ad-36 seropositivity had a higher prevalence in obese children than in normal weight group (58.6 versus 41.4%, P = 0.007). Ad-36 seropositivity was associated with obesity (OR = 2.66, P = 0.01) and high-density lipoprotein <40 mg/dL (OR = 2.85, P = 0.03). The Ad-36 seropositive group had greater risk of 4 metabolic abnormalities compared with those children without none alteration. In summary, Ad-36 seropositivity was associated with obesity and low HDL-c levels in the sample of children studied.

The role of adenovirus 36 as a risk factor in obesity: The first clinical study made in the fatty tissues of adults in Turkey

“…In the adipose tissue samples obtained, no Ad-36 DNA was detected. While our serological results show similarities with the serologic-based studies performed in the USA and Europe [8,16,17,35], our result of no detectable Ad-36 DNA in human adipose tissue samples differed from the results of Pasarica et al [20] and Salehian et al [21]. However, our results showed similarity with the study of Goossens et al [38].…”

Interaction of obesity and infections

“…Studies have reported a positive cross‐sectional association of human obesity with positive testing for avian adenovirus SMAM1 , human adenoviruses infections in general , or human adenoviruses Ad5 or Ad9 . Twenty other studies evaluated the association between obesity status or obesity‐related metabolic profile and infection by Ad36 in both children and adults. Of these, three studies found no association between overweight or obesity and Ad36 .…”

The Epidemiology of Obesity: A Big Picture

“…Studies in diverse human populations generally support greater Ad-36 viral loads as probably causal of obesity in both children and adults (76–79), with links to other metabolic traits (77,79). …”