Ceramide d18:1/24:1 as a potential biomarker to differentiate obesity subtypes with unfavorable health outcomes

  • Lipids Health Dis. 2023 Oct 4;22(1):166. doi: 10.1186/s12944-023-01921-0.
Baowen Yu  #  1 ,  Moran Hu  #  1 ,  Wanzi Jiang  1 ,  Yizhe Ma  1 ,  Jingya Ye  1 ,  Qinyi Wu  1 ,  Wen Guo  1 ,  Yan Sun  1 ,  Min Zhou  1 ,  Yiwen Xu  1 ,  Zhoulu Wu  1 ,  Yiwen Wang  1 ,  Sin Man Lam  2 ,  Guanghou Shui  2 ,  Jingyu Gu  1 ,  John Zhong Li  3 ,  Zhenzhen Fu  4 ,  Yingyun Gong  5 ,  Hongwen Zhou  6  7
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Endocrinology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
  • 2. Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
  • 3. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
  • 4. Department of Endocrinology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. [email protected].
  • 5. Department of Endocrinology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. [email protected].
  • 6. Department of Endocrinology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. [email protected].
  • 7. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. [email protected].
  • # Contributed equally.
PMID: 37794463 DOI: 10.1186/s12944-023-01921-0
Abstract

Background: The criteria for metabolically healthy Obesity (MHO) and metabolically unhealthy Obesity (MUO) remain controversial. This research aimed to identify a potential biomarker to differentiate the subtypes of Obesity.

Methods: The study conducted a lipidomic evaluation of ceramide in the serum of 77 Chinese adults who had undergone hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps. These adults were divided into three groups according to the clinical data: normal weight control group (N = 21), MHO (N = 20), and MUO (N = 36).

Results: The serum Cer d18:1/24:1 level in the MHO group was lower than that in the MUO group. As the Cer d18:1/24:1 level increased, Insulin sensitivity decreased, and the unfavorable parameters increased in parallel. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that serum Cer d18:1/24:1 levels were independently correlated with MUO in Obesity. Individuals with higher levels of Cer d18:1/24:1 also had an elevated risk of Cardiovascular Disease. Most ceramide subtype levels increased in Obesity compared to normal-weight individuals, but the levels of serum Cer d18:0/18:0 and Cer d18:1/16:0 decreased in Obesity.

Conclusions: The relationships between ceramide subtypes and metabolic profiles might be heterogeneous in populations with different body weights. Cer d18:1/24:1 could be a biomarker that can be used to differentiate MUO from MHO, and to better predict who will develop unfavorable health outcomes among obese individuals.

Trial registration: The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University's Institutional Review Board authorized this study protocol, and all participants provided written informed consent (2014-SR-003) prior to study entry.

Keywords
Cardiovascular disease; Cer d18:1/24:1; Ceramide; Metabolically unhealthy obesity.
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