Abstract
PURPOSE: CTRP3 is a novel peptide that has recently emerged as an important regulatory adipokine of obesity and related metabolic disease. Little is known about its role in children. The current study aimed to investigate the potential role of CTRP3 in obese children and explore its relationships with insulin sensitivity, pancreatic β cell function, and obesity-related markers. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied the levels of serum CTRP3 in 48 obese and 36 normal weight pre-puberty children. The levels of blood pressure, lipids, glucose, and insulin were measured, and the values of HOMA-IR, HOMA-β and insulinogenic index were calculated. The correlations of these measurements with CTRP3 levels were analyzed. RESULTS: In this study, we found that CTRP3 serum levels significantly decreased in obese children compared to controls, and insulin resistant obese subjects have lower CTRP3 levels in contrast with the non-insulin resistant obese subjects. Moreover, serum CTRP3 concentrations significantly decreased, while glucose and insulin concentrations significantly increased after a 3 hrs oral glucose tolerance test in obese children. Furthermore, Serum CTRP3 levels correlated negatively and significantly with BMI, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, fasting insulin, glucose, HOMA-IR, HOMA-β and insulinogenic index in obese children. CONCLUSION: In summary, serum CTRP3 levels significantly decreased in obese children, and negatively correlated with insulin resistance and pancreatic β cell function indicators. Therefore, CTRP3 may play a protective role in the glucose homeostasis and tightly related to β cell function as well as obesity-related markers in obese children.