A Comprehensive Study on the Association between Plasma NOV/CCN3 Levels and Insulin Resistance in Childhood Obesity.

INTRODUCTION: Childhood obesity is a global health problem that is associated with various metabolic complications, such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular diseases. The mechanisms underlying the development of insulin resistance in childhood obesity are not fully understood. Nephroblastoma overexpressed gene (NOV), also known as CCN3, is a member of the CCN family of matricellular proteins that modulate cell proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, migration, and survival. Previous studies have shown that NOV/CCN3 is involved in glucose metabolism and insulin signaling in various tissues and cell types. However, the role of NOV/CCN3 in childhood obesity and insulin resistance remains unclear.

METHODS: In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between plasma NOV/CCN3 levels and insulin resistance in 58 obese and 43 non-obese children aged 6-12 years. We measured plasma NOV/CCN3 levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and assessed insulin resistance by homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). We also collected clinical and biochemical data, such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), blood pressure (BP), fasting glucose (FG), fasting insulin (FI), lipid profile, and inflammatory markers.

RESULTS: We found that plasma NOV/CCN3 levels were significantly higher in obese children than in non-obese children (P<0.001), and positively correlated with BMI (r=0.42, P<0.001), WC (r=0.38, P<0.001), BP (r=0.35, P<0.001), FG (r=0.31, P<0.001), FI (r=0.45, P<0.001), HOMA-IR (r=0.48, P<0.001), triglycerides (r=0.28, P<0.001), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (r=0.26, P<0.001), and C-reactive protein (CRP) (r=0.32, P<0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that plasma NOV/CCN3 levels were independently associated with HOMA-IR after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, WC, BP, FG, FI, lipid profile, and CRP (β=0.36, P<0.001).

CONCLUSION: These results suggest that plasma NOV/CCN3 levels are elevated in childhood obesity and are associated with insulin resistance, indicating that NOV/CCN3 may play a role in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders in obese children.