Correlation between serum microRNA-122 and insulin resistance in obese children

Abstract:

Objective To study the relationship between serum microRNA-122 (miR-122) and insulin resistance in obese children. Methods Forty-seven children with severely obesity aged 7-14 years and 45 age-and gender matched healthy children with normal weight (control group) were enrolled. The levels of height, weight, waistline, hip circumference, fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting insulin (FINS), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), free fatty acid (FFA), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and miR-122 in the two groups were measured. Body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR) and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) were calculated. Results Compared with the control group, the height, weight, BMI, WHR, FINS, HOMA-IR, TG, FFA, IL-6, and miR-122 levels in the obese group were significantly increased (P < 0.05). MiR-122 levels in the obese group were positively correlated with FINS, HOMA-IR and IL-6 levels (r=0.408, 0.442, and 0.464 respectively, P < 0.05). The changes of miR-122 have a linear regression relationship with IL-6 (b'=0.318, P < 0.05). Conclusions The elevated serum miR-122 levels may be correlated with insulin resistance in obese children. The mechanism needs to be further studied.