Lipid metabolism disruptions play a significant role in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The study sought biomarkers in plasma that are associated with the occurrence of hepatic steatosis in children with obesity using lipidomics, an analytical approach used to extensively examine lipid metabolism. Lipidomics was done on plasma samples from 21 obese children whose steatosis was identified using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) and compared to the lipidome of 21 nonsteatotic obese people. A total of 42 samples were examined. A total of 18 lipid classes were discovered, resulting in 839 distinct lipid species. Children with hepatic steatosis had a statistically significant increase in alkyl diacylglycerol (TG[O]) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) species and a significant reduction in alkyl/alkenyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (PE[O]), alkyl/alkenyl-lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE[O]), and alkyl/alkenyl Twelve distinct lipid species from three lipid classes were found to be substantially higher in steatotic individuals as compared to controls.
Researchers discovered statistically significant changes in 5 major lipid classes and 12 unique lipid species in children with steatosis in the pilot research. These might be indicators for pediatric NAFLD. Lipidomic investigations in bigger groups of children are required to evaluate the diagnostic usefulness of these lipids and whether the results can be extrapolated to various age groups and ethnic backgrounds.
