Lipidomics Reveals Similar Changes in Serum Phospholipid Signatures of Overweight and Obese Pediatric Subjects

Obesity is a public
health problem and a risk factor for pathologies
such type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, and nonalcoholic
fatty liver disease. Given these clinical implications, there is a
growing interest to understand the pathophysiological mechanism of
obesity. Changes in lipid metabolism have been associated with obesity
and obesity-related complications. However, changes in the lipid profile
of obese children have been overlooked. In the present work, we analyzed
the serum phospholipidome of overweight and obese children by HILIC-MS/MS
and GC-MS. Using this approach, we have identified 165 lipid species
belonging to the classes PC, PE, PS, PG, PI, LPC, and SM. The phospholipidome
of overweight (OW) and obese (OB) children was significantly different
from normal-weight children (control). Main differences were observed
in the PI class that was less abundant in OW and OB children and some
PS, PE, SM, and PC lipid species are upregulated in obese and overweight
children. Although further studies are needed to clarify some association
between phospholipid alterations and metabolic changes, our results
highlight the alteration that occurs in the serum phospholipid profile
in obesity in children.