Relationship between estimated fatty acid desaturase activities and abdominal adiposity in Japanese children.
BACKGROUND
Abdominal obesity alters the composition of plasma and tissue long chain fatty acids and thus affects a number of important physiological functions relating to the development of cardiometabolic diseases. The fatty acid composition is modulated by desaturases; stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), delta-6 desaturase (D6D) and delta-5 desaturase (D5D). Therefore, we examined the relationship between the desaturase activities and abdominal adiposity.


METHODS
One hundred eighty-one children (98 males, 83 females), including 42 children with abdominal obesity having waist to height ratio (WHtR) >0.5, were recruited. Fatty acid composition in plasma phospholipids was analyzed by gas chromatography after overnight fast, and SCD activity was estimated by 18:1/18:0 ratio.


RESULTS
In children without abdominal obesity, WHtR correlated positively with D6D activity (r = 0.252, p = 0.0027) and negatively with SCD activity (r = −0.289, p = 0.0006), but not with D5D activity (r = −0.159, p = 0.0607). While in children with abdominal obesity, WHtR had a positive association with SCD activity (r = 0.332, p = 0.0315), but not with D6D (r = 0.267, p = 0.0847) or D5D activity (r = 0.008, p = 0.9600).


CONCLUSIONS
The relationship between the desaturase activities and abdominal adiposity altered in children with abdominal obesity. Especially, SCD activity demonstrated a U-shaped association with WHtR.
Emiko
E
Saito
Tomoo
T
Okada
Yuriko
Y
Abe
Minako
M
Odaka
Yuki
Y
Kuromori
Fujihiko
F
Iwata
Mitsuhiko
M
Hara
Hideo
H
Mugishima
Yohei
Y
Kitamura
D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D000090943:Delta-5 Fatty Acid Desaturase; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D050602:Linoleoyl-CoA Desaturase / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000097:blood* / Q000517:prevention & control; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000097:blood; D013230:Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase / Q000097:blood*; D065927:Waist-Height Ratio
D000090943:Delta-5 Fatty Acid Desaturase; D020738:Leptin; D010743:Phospholipids; D044943:Fatty Acid Desaturases; D013230:Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase; D050602:Linoleoyl-CoA Desaturase