Hepatocyte growth factor is elevated in obese adolescents.
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a pleiotropic factor with angiogenic and mitogenic effects and has been linked to vascular diseases. It is elevated in obese adults.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether HGF levels are altered in obese adolescents and whether they correlate with anthropometric measurements of obesity.


METHODS
Seventy-nine male adolescents were enrolled. Forty-eight percent were overweight. Various parameters were recorded at one visit, including BMI and waist circumference, and blood samples were taken. HGF was determined by ELISA.


RESULTS
Overweight adolescents have higher plasma levels of HGF (1,099.8 +/- 416.7 pg/ml) than controls (883.2 +/- 218.7 pg/ml) (p = 0.008). HGF levels correlated with BMI and waist circumference. HGF correlated closely with high sensitive C-reactive protein.


CONCLUSIONS
We demonstrated elevated HGF levels in obese adolescents. We speculate that HGF is a possible link between obesity in early life and related comorbidities.
Friedrich-Schiller-University, Clinic of Internal Medicine I, Jena, Germany. christian.jung@med.uni-jena.de
Christian
C
Jung
Michael
M
Fritzenwanger
Nicole
N
Fischer
Hans R
HR
Figulla
D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology; D055105:Waist Circumference / Q000502:physiology
D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor; D002097:C-Reactive Protein