Vascular endothelial growth factor C gene expression and its serum level as potential biomarkers for obesity in Egyptian children

Abstract

Background and objectivesObesity is a serious health issue among children, and it's linked to a higher risk of chronic illness. Increased adipose tissue, which is highly vascularized due to angiogenesis, causes adverse health problems. Angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis are regulated by vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C), and poor lymphatic vessel function is linked to increased adipocyte accumulation. Therefore, our study analyzes VEGF-C gene expression and its serum level in children with obesity in Egypt and correlates them with metabolic, clinical, and biochemical parameters. Subjects & methodsWe compared VEGF-C gene expression in blood and its serum level from 50 unrelated children with obesity and 50 normal healthy controls chosen randomly of matched age and gender recruited from Pediatric Clinics, both inpatient and outpatient, Menoufia University, Egypt, from March to June 2021, in a case-control study. The expression levels of VEGF-C mRNA were evaluated using a real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and the serum VEGF-C level was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ResultsFasting plasma glucose, fasting insulin, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triacylglycerol (TAG), total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), serum VEGF-C, and VEGF-C expression levels were significantly higher in obese children group compared with the control (P < 0.001). In addition, serum VEGF-C levels were significantly inversely correlated with FT4 (P = 0.009) and significantly directly correlated with total cholesterol (P = 0.005) and LDL-C levels (P = 0.006) in the obese children group. Moreover, VEGF-C expression levels were also significantly inversely correlated with HDL-C levels (P = 0.001) and significantly directly correlated with fasting insulin (P = 0.002) and HOMA-IR (P = 0.001) in the obese children group. ConclusionVEGF-C gene expression and its serum levels could be used for follow-up of obese children with metabolic abnormalities.