Metabolomics profiling of visceral adipose tissue: Results From MESA and the NEO study
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background Identifying associations between serum metabolites and visceral adipose tissue ( VAT ) could provide novel biomarkers of VAT and insights into the pathogenesis of obesity-related diseases. We aimed to discover and replicate metabolites reflecting pathways related to VAT . Methods and Results Associations between fasting serum metabolites and VAT area (by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging) were assessed with cross-sectional linear regression of individual-level data from participants in MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis; discovery, N=1103) and the NEO (Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity) study (replication, N=2537). Untargeted 1H nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics profiling of serum was performed in MESA, and metabolites were replicated in the NEO study using targeted 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. A total of 30 590 metabolomic spectral variables were evaluated. After adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, smoking, physical activity, glucose/lipid-lowering medication, and body mass index, 2104 variables representing 24 nonlipid and 49 lipid/lipoprotein subclass metabolites remained significantly associated with VAT ( P=4.88×10-20-1.16×10-3). These included conventional metabolites, amino acids, acetylglycoproteins, intermediates of glucose and hepatic metabolism, organic acids, and subclasses of apolipoproteins, cholesterol, phospholipids, and triglycerides. Metabolites mapped to 31 biochemical pathways, including amino acid substrate use/metabolism and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis. In the replication cohort, acetylglycoproteins, branched-chain amino acids, lactate, glutamine (inversely), and atherogenic lipids remained associated with VAT ( P=1.90×10-35-8.46×10-7), with most associations remaining after additional adjustment for surrogates of VAT (glucose level, waist circumference, and serum triglycerides), reflecting novel independent associations. Conclusions We identified and replicated a metabolite panel associated with VAT in 2 community-based cohorts. These findings persisted after adjustment for body mass index and appear to define a metabolic signature of visceral adiposity.
Date Issued
2019-05-07
Date Acceptance
2019-02-19
Citation
Journal of the American Heart Association : Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease, 2019, 8 (9)
ISSN
2047-9980
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Journal of the American Heart Association : Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease
Volume
8
Issue
9
Copyright Statement
© 2019 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley Blackwell
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Sponsor
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust- BRC Funding
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust- BRC Funding
National Institutes of Health
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31017036
Grant Number
RDC01 79560
RDB03 79560
RO1HL133932
Subjects
adipose tissue
cohort
metabolite
metabolomics
obesity
visceral adipose tissue
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
e010810
Date Publish Online
2019-04-24