Association between Plasmatic Ceramides Profile and AST/ALT Ratio: C14:0 Ceramide as Predictor of Hepatic Steatosis in Adolescents Independently of Obesity

Abstract

Objective To assess the association between plasma ceramides and hepatic steatosis (HS) in adolescents, independently of obesity. Materials and Methods Ninety-four adolescents from two previous studies conducted and published by our crew were included. Study subjects were stratified in three groups: normal weight (n = 18), obesity (n = 34), and obesity + HS (n = 42). The presence of HS was defined when ALT/AST ratio was <1. Ceramides subspecies (C14:0, C16:0, C18:0, C24:0, and C24:1) were determined by LC/MS. Results All ceramides correlated directly with ALT levels and inversely with ALT/AST ratio; the strongest correlation was observed among C14:0 ceramide (r = 0.41 and r = −0.54, resp.; P < 0.001). Furthermore, significant correlations were observed between cholesterol and all ceramides except for C24:1 ceramide. Interestingly ceramides C14:0, C18:0, and C24:1 correlated directly with both fasting insulin and HOMA-IR index. For assessing HS, a cut-off point of 10.3 nmol/L for C14:0 ceramide reported a sensitivity of 92.7% and a specificity of 73.5% when normal weight and obesity groups (n = 52) were compared against obesity + HS group (n = 42). Positive and negative predictive values were 77.5% and 90.2%, respectively. Conclusions Plasma ceramides are closely associated with hepatic steatosis in adolescents. C14:0 ceramide could be a novel biomarker of HS independently of obesity.

Effects of constant light exposure on sphingolipidomics and progression of NASH in high‐fat‐fed rats

“…Recent studies indicate that sphingolipids, such as SM, Cer, and S1P, play an essential role in the onset and progression of NAFLD. Cers have been shown to accumulate in the livers of NAFLD people and animals and are linked to insulin resistance and inflammation 36 . Our results confirm previous reports of Cer accumulation in HFD rats.…”

Identification of Plasmatic Biomarkers of Foie Gras Qualities in Duck by Metabolomics

“…Moreover, it was previously shown that plasmatic NEFA, TG and cholesterol were correlated to liver weight (Tavernier et al, 2017;Pioche et al, 2019). In other animal models of hepatic steatosis, lipophilic biomarkers were identified in rats (Goda et al, 2018) and specifically ceramids in mice (Dong et al, 2017) and adolescents (Maldonado-Hernández et al, 2017). Another perspective of the present study could be to search for biomarkers in the lipid fraction of the plasma.…”

Randomized nutrient bar supplementation improves exercise-associated changes in plasma metabolome in adolescents and adult family members at cardiometabolic risk

“…Ceramides with C14:0, C16:0, C24:1 and C26:1 showed positive associations with changes in TG. C14:0 ceramide has been previously been implicated in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adolescent children [35]. C16:0 ceramide inhibits mitochondrial FAO, oxidant production, and impairs Complex IV activity [25].…”