Negative association between circulating total homocysteine and proinflammatory chemokines MCP-1 and RANTES in prepubertal lean, but not in obese, children.

This study investigated in prepubertal obese children (POC), compared with prepubertal lean children (PLC), a possible relation among plasma total homocysteine (tHcy)-an independent risk factor for future atherosclerosis-and MCP-1 and RANTES, two circulating chemokines inducing leukocyte transendothelial migration (TEM), implicated in the initial stages of the inflammatory part of the atherosclerotic process. Seventy-two POC were evaluated for circulating tHcy, MCP-1, and RANTES, and compared with 42 healthy PLC. The mean adjusted (for age, sex as well as log10total insulin, vitB12, folate, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, log10triglycerides, and log10glucose levels) differences in tHcy, MCP-1, and RANTES levels between PLC and POC were all significant [1.16 nmol/mL (P = 0.03), 26.6 pg/mL (P = 0.02), and 52.9 pg/mL (P = 0.03), respectively]. In PLC, but not in POC, tHcy levels were negatively associated with both circulating MCP-1 (B = -1.68, P = 0.007) and RANTES (B = -1.16, P = 0.01) after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, as well as log10total insulin, vitB12, folate, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, log10triglycerides, and log10glucose levels. In conclusion, in POC there is a lack, in contrast to PLC, of a possibly autoregulatory, negative association of elevated tHcy levels to increased MCP-1 and RANTES levels. This could contribute to future, homocysteine-induced atherosclerosis.