Urocortin Neuropeptide Levels Are Impaired in the PBMCs of Overweight Children.

Nutrients 2022 Jan 18

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The corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and urocortins (UCNs) have been implicated in energy homeostasis and the cellular stress response. However, the expression of these neuropeptides in children remains unclear. Therefore, we determined the impact of obesity on their expression in 40 children who were normal weight, overweight, and had obesity. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and plasma were used to assess the expression of neuropeptides. THP1 cells were treated with 25 mM glucose and 200 µM palmitate, and gene expression was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Transcript levels of neuropeptides were decreased in PBMCs from children with increased body mass index as indicated by a significant decrease in UCN1, UCN3, and CRH mRNA in overweight and obese children. UCN3 mRNA expression was strongly correlated with UCN1, UCN2, and CRH. Exposure of THP1 cells to palmitate or a combination of high glucose and palmitate for 24 h increased CRH, UCN2, and UCN3 mRNA expression with concomitant increased levels of inflammatory and endoplasmic reticulum stress markers, suggesting a crosstalk between these neuropeptides and the cellular stress response. The differential impairment of the transcript levels of CRH and UCNs in PBMCs from overweight and obese children highlights their involvement in obesity-related metabolic and cellular stress.

Citation

Sina Kavalakatt, Abdelkrim Khadir, Shihab Kochumon, Dhanya Madhu, Sriraman Devarajan, Maha Hammad, Nada Alam-Eldin, Samia Warsame, Hessa Al-Kandari, Maria AlMahdi, Rasheed Ahmad, Heikki A Koistinen, Jaakko Tuomilehto, Fahd Al-Mulla, Jehad Abubaker, Ali Tiss. Urocortin Neuropeptide Levels Are Impaired in the PBMCs of Overweight Children. Nutrients. 2022 Jan 18;14(3)