Endocan and Lumican in Relation to Cardiometabolic Risk in a Pediatric Overweight and Obese Cohort: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate serum Endocan and Lumican levels as biomarkers for pediatric Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and to explore their associations with pediatric cardiometabolic risk factors. We conducted a cross-sectional study on 68 pediatric obese and overweight (O&O) patients. Ten healthy controls were recruited. Serum Lumican and Endocan levels were analyzed using ELISA kits. O&O patients had lower levels of Endocan compared to healthy controls (p<0.001). There were no differences between serum Endocan levels in O&O patients with NAFLD and those without (p=0.53). Patients considered having Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) had lower Endocan levels compared to O&O patients without NASH (p=0.026). Patients with metabolic syndrome had lower levels of Endocan (p=0.003). There were no significant differences between serum Lumican levels in O&O children compared to healthy controls. Lumican levels were higher in patients with hypertension (p=0.04). In O&O patients, Lumican levels were negatively correlated with Endocan levels (r=−0.37, p=0.002). Endocan seems a promising biomarker for the evaluation of pediatric NASH. Lumican was not confirmed as a biomarker for NAFLD in our cohort but was associated with higher arterial pressure. Low Endocan levels are accompanied by high serum Lumican levels, and this could be an early signature of cardiometabolic risk.

Serum endocan as a predictive biomarker of cardiovascular risk in obese pediatric patients

“…To date, only one other study has examined this association in a population of obese children, and the results are partially consistent with ours (13). A previous study in obese adult patients with or without steatosis reported reduced plasma levels of Endocan compared with healthy lean subjects (14,15). The con icting results between our study and this study may be due to a possible uctuation in the expression of Endocan during physiological development in children, although other studies have already con rmed the tendency for Endocan levels to increase in the presence of cardiovascular risk factors.…”

Exploring the Role of Serum Osteonectin and Hsp27 in Pediatric MAFLD Diagnosis and Cardiometabolic Health

“…We gathered and (re)analyzed data from MR PONy ( m etabolic and cardiovascular r isk factors in a p ediatric o verweight and obese population with or without N AFLD) cohort (already described in our previously published research papers of [ 6 , 7 ]. Briefly, the MR PONy cohort consists of 71 subjects of 3 to 18 years, recruited in a one year time-lapse (January to December 2017) from consecutive pediatric patients admitted to a tertiary pediatric clinic from Bucharest, Romania (INSMC “Alessandrescu Rusescu”).…”

The Role of Endocan in Cardiometabolic Disorders

“…Conflicting results have been shown concerning the role of endocan in NAFLD [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ].…”

“…As for the children and adolescent population, no difference in circulating endocan levels was shown between obese participants with (n = 40) and without NAFLD (n = 60), as compared to controls (n = 40) [ 41 ]. Similarly, there were no differences between serum endocan levels in overweight and obese children (n = 26) with NAFLD and those without (n = 48) [ 42 ].…”