title: Indices of insulin resistance and dyslipidemia are correlated with lymphocyte proneness to apoptosis in obese or overweight low birth weight children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our aim was to study the relationship between markers of cell proneness to apoptosis and indices of insulin resistance and dyslipidemia in children born with low birth weight (LBW).
  
  
  METHODS
  The study comprised 177 prepubertal children stratified by birth weight and their nutritional status into LBW (n = 138) and normal birth weight (NBW; n = 39) groups. We analyzed DNA from peripheral blood lymphocytes, separated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), as well as the serum levels of cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting insulin and glucose, caspase 3, and BCL2.
  
  
  RESULTS
  LBW children with a BMI SDS >1.55 demonstrated increased content of the large fragments of the lymphocyte DNA [300-500 kb (DNA300-500 kb)] in electrophoretic slides (a marker of decreased chromatin stability and susceptibility of cells to apoptosis) compared to the NBW group. In these children the level of DNA300-500 kb exhibited a strong negative correlation with the serum level of antiapoptotic protein of BCL2 (r = -0.901). DNA300-500 kb significantly correlated with calculated indices of insulin resistance: HOMA-IR and QUICKI as well as with the indices of lipid homeostasis (Castelli and AIP).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased susceptibility of lymphocytes to apoptosis correlated with a higher risk of insulin resistance and lipid disturbance in overweight or obese LBW children. A comprehensive study of the proneness of cells to apoptosis should be implemented to further investigate the pathomechanism of the metabolic syndrome in these children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw Medical University, PL–50-556 Wroclaw, Poland. ebarg@dilnet.wroc.pl
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barg
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Szopa
authors.forename: Karolina A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Pesz
authors.forename: Kazimierz
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gąsiorowski
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D001786:Blood Glucose; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D004247:DNA / Q000097:blood; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight / Q000097:blood*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000097:blood; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D007328:Insulin; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D014280:Triglycerides; D004247:DNA; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; D053148:Caspase 3