Chemokines and their Association with Body Mass Index among Healthy Saudis

Publication date: Available online 20 March 2019Source: Saudi Journal of Biological SciencesAuthor(s): Steve Harakeh, Kalamegam Gauthaman, Peter N. Pushparaj, Ahmed Al-Hejin, Sulaiman M. Alfadul, Turki Al Amri, Salah Barnawi, Hadeel Al Sadoun, Ahmed A. Mirza, Esam AzharAbstractObesity is a chronic disorder that is associated with body mass index (BMI) of greater or equal to 30 kg/m2. The prevalence of obesity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is increasing at an alarming rate and is expected to reach 41% in men and up to 78% in women by 2022. Since chemokines are associated with involuntary weight loss, the objective of this study was to elucidate their role in BMI among Saudis. A questionnaire was used to collect information about diet, health conditions, and demographics from 56 men and 49 women who participated in the study. BMI was calculated from clinical measurements and participants were classified according to their BMI category: normal, underweight, overweight, and obese. Serum samples were collected for a multiplex assay using the Human Chemokine Magnetic 30-plex panel. The serum concentration of monokine induced by gamma interferon (MIG) or CXC-motif chemokine ligand 9 (CXCL-9) was significantly increased in obese men (P = 0.0194) and women (P = 0.043) compared with underweight men and women, respectively. However, the serum levels of other chemokines were not significantly different among the groups. We found that MIG levels are differentially regulated in seru...
Source: Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences - Category: Biology Source Type: research