ESPE Abstracts

Background: Perturbation of inflammation is critically linked to nutrient metabolic pathways and obesity-associated complications, such as insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The S100 family of proteins, including S100A8/A9 (calprotectin), have been implicated in disease pathogenesis and investigated as potential markers of inflammation. In adults, increased circulating levels of calprotectin have been reported in obesity-related chronic low-grade inflammation. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum calprotectin levels and overweight/obesity in prepubertal children.

Methods: We enrolled 59 prepubertal children aged 6-9 years. The patients of hypothyroidism, Cushing syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, and T2DM were excluded in this study. The subjects were divided into two groups: normal-weighted group (BMI <85 Percentile, n = 26) and overweight/obese group (BMI ≥85 Percentile, n = 33). Calprotectin and IL-6 were measured using Commercial ELISA kit (Bühlmann Laboratories AG, Schönenbuch, Switzerland) and ELISA assay (R&D System, Minneapolis, MN, USA), respectively. Pearson’s coefficient of correlation (r) between calprotectin and clinical parameters were calculated. Multiple linear regression analyses was used to evaluate the independent association between calprotectin and obesity

Results: The serum calprotectin concentrations were significantly elevated in children with overweight/obesity compared to those with normal weight. The serum IL-6 concentrations were significantly elevated in children with overweight/obesity compared to those with normal weight. The serum calprotectin concentrations were significantly positively correlated with weight SDS, WC SDS, BMI SDS, and IL-6 in unadjusted Pearson’s analyses. The serum IL-6 was significantly positively correlated with weight SDS, WC SDS, BMI SDS, and calprotectin in unadjusted Pearson’s analyses. In the multiple linear regression analyses, the calprotectin was significantly associated with BMI SDS after adjustment for age, sex and IL-6.

Conclusions: Our results showed that the calprotectin was independently associated with obesity after adjustment for age, sex, and IL-6. Our results confirm a potential utility of calprotectin as a marker of obesity-associated chronic low-grade inflammation in children.