Early metabolic alterations in pediatric obesity: Depot-specific insights from untargeted adipose tissue metabolomics.
Por:
López-Gonzálvez Á, Muñoz-San Martín C, Soria-Gondek A, Requena B, Fernández-García P, González L, Reyes-Farias M, Murillo M, Valls A, Corrales P, Villarroya-Gombau F, Cereijo R, Herrero L, Barbas C, Sánchez-Infantes D and Gonzalez-Riano C
Publicada:
1 jun 2026
Ahead of Print:
14 mar 2026
Resumen:
BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity is associated with lifelong metabolic risk, yet depot-specific alterations in adipose tissue metabolism during early life remain poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to characterize the metabolic differences between subcutaneous (sWAT) and visceral (vWAT) white adipose tissue in pediatric obesity using untargeted metabolomics. METHODS: Adipose tissue samples were collected from 12 children with overweight/obesity (OW/OB) and 18 who were of normal weight (NW). Untargeted metabolomics was performed using capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry to profile polar metabolites in sWAT and vWAT, and free fatty acids (FFAs) were analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Comparison of children with OW/OB vs NW revealed pronounced depot-specific heterogeneity. vWAT in children with OW/OB exhibited 24 significantly altered metabolites compared with NW controls. This visceral profile was characterized by elevated ketone bodies (3-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetic acid), tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates (citric and pyruvic acids), and long-chain FFAs (palmitic and oleic acids). Concurrently, amino acid imbalances, specifically elevated leucine and arginine but reduced histidine and carnosine, suggested heightened mitochondrial stress and inflammation. In contrast, sWAT from children with OW/OB showed fewer variations (12 metabolites), defined primarily by elevated glutamate, leucine, and short-chain FFAs, reflecting a milder metabolic disruption. Direct comparison between depots revealed that vWAT was enriched in amino acids and carnitine, while sWAT showed relatively higher levels of glycolytic and ketone body intermediates in NW conditions. CONCLUSION: Depot-specific metabolic differences are evident in pediatric obesity. vWAT in children with OW/OB displays a metabolic profile consistent with heightened lipotoxicity and mitochondrial stress, whereas sWAT exhibits fewer, less pronounced metabolic differences.
Filiaciones:
López-Gonzálvez Á:
Centro de Metabolómica y Bioanálisis (CEMBIO), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización MonteprÍncipe, 28660 Boadilla del Monte, Spain (Drs López-Gonzálvez, Martín, Requena, Barbas, and Gonzalez-Riano)
Muñoz-San Martín C:
Centro de Metabolómica y Bioanálisis (CEMBIO), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización MonteprÍncipe, 28660 Boadilla del Monte, Spain (Drs López-Gonzálvez, Martín, Requena, Barbas, and Gonzalez-Riano)
Soria-Gondek A:
Pediatric Surgery Department, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona 08916, Spain (Dr Soria-Gondek)
Requena B:
Centro de Metabolómica y Bioanálisis (CEMBIO), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización MonteprÍncipe, 28660 Boadilla del Monte, Spain (Drs López-Gonzálvez, Martín, Requena, Barbas, and Gonzalez-Riano)
Fernández-García P:
Department of Health Sciences, Campus Alcorcón, University Rey Juan Carlos (URJC), E-28922 Madrid, Spain (Drs Fernández-García, Corrales, and Sánchez-Infantes)
González L:
Fundació Institut Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona 08916, Spain (Drs González and Reyes-Farias)
Reyes-Farias M:
Fundació Institut Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona 08916, Spain (Drs González and Reyes-Farias)
Department of Biochemistry and Physiology, School of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain (Drs Reyes-Farias and Herrero)
Murillo M:
Pediatric Endocrinology Unit, Pediatric Department, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona 08916, Spain (Drs Murillo and Valls)
Valls A:
Pediatric Endocrinology Unit, Pediatric Department, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona 08916, Spain (Drs Murillo and Valls)
Corrales P:
Department of Health Sciences, Campus Alcorcón, University Rey Juan Carlos (URJC), E-28922 Madrid, Spain (Drs Fernández-García, Corrales, and Sánchez-Infantes)
Villarroya-Gombau F:
Biochemistry and Molecular biomedicine Department, Instituto de Biomedicina de la Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona 08028, Spain (Drs Villarroya and Cereijo)
Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Madrid 28029, Spain (Drs Villarroya, Cereijo, Herrero, and Sánchez-Infantes)
Cereijo R:
Biochemistry and Molecular biomedicine Department, Instituto de Biomedicina de la Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona 08028, Spain (Drs Villarroya and Cereijo)
Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Madrid 28029, Spain (Drs Villarroya, Cereijo, Herrero, and Sánchez-Infantes)
Herrero L:
Department of Biochemistry and Physiology, School of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain (Drs Reyes-Farias and Herrero)
Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Madrid 28029, Spain (Drs Villarroya, Cereijo, Herrero, and Sánchez-Infantes)
Barbas C:
Centro de Metabolómica y Bioanálisis (CEMBIO), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización MonteprÍncipe, 28660 Boadilla del Monte, Spain (Drs López-Gonzálvez, Martín, Requena, Barbas, and Gonzalez-Riano)
Sánchez-Infantes D:
Department of Health Sciences, Campus Alcorcón, University Rey Juan Carlos (URJC), E-28922 Madrid, Spain (Drs Fernández-García, Corrales, and Sánchez-Infantes)
Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Madrid 28029, Spain (Drs Villarroya, Cereijo, Herrero, and Sánchez-Infantes)
Gonzalez-Riano C:
Centro de Metabolómica y Bioanálisis (CEMBIO), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización MonteprÍncipe, 28660 Boadilla del Monte, Spain (Drs López-Gonzálvez, Martín, Requena, Barbas, and Gonzalez-Riano)
Open Access
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