Resumen:
The biological role of Zinc-alpha 2-glycoprotein (ZAG) has been associated with lipid
mobilization, although this is not entirely clear. The study’s aim was to examine the serum
levels of ZAG and zinc (Zn) in a children population with overweight (OW) and obesity
(OB), and their relationship with biochemical parameters. Our study was a cross-sectional
analysis of a group of Mexican children aged 6–9 (n=72). We analyzed anthropometric data
and various biochemical parameters, including fasting plasma glucose (FPG), high-density
lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), triglycerides
(TG), total cholesterol (TC), insulin, and homeostatic model assessment insulin resistance
2
(HOMA-IR). ZAG protein levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
(ELISA), and serum zinc (Zn) levels were quantified using inductively coupled plasma mass
spectrometry (ICP–MS). The Zn values indicate a statistically significant difference between
normal weight (NW) and overweight/obese (OW/OB) children with Zn concentrations was
(91 µg/dL; IQR: 61.7 to 108.8) for NW and (66 µg/dL; IQR: 42.5 to 82.7) for OW/OB. ZAG
values did not show significant differences between NW and OW/OB, of (2.1 mg/dL; IQR:
1.6 to 2.6) and (2.3 mg/dL; IQR 1.6 to 2.8), respectively Additionally, the Zn/ZAG ratio was
lower in the OW/OB population (2.9 IQR: 1.9 to 4.5, p= 0.05) compared to the NW
population (3.7 IQR 2.5 to 5.1 , p= 0.05) and the correlations were found between fasting
plasma glucose (FPG) with Zn (r= 0.880, p= 0.004) and ZAG (r= 0.387, p= 0.046) in the
boys population, as well as a negative correlation between insulin and Zn in NW children of
both sex. HOMA-IR shows correlations between Zn (r=0.499, p=0.008) and ZAG (r=0.473,
p=0.010) in the overweight/obese (OW/OB) population of both boys and girls. Additionally,
correlations were observed between LDLc, TG, and BMIz with Zn and ZAG in the boys
population. In the same way we also found that girls with OW/OB had a Zn/ZAG ratio of
2.32 (95% CI -4.58 to -0.07, p=0.043) compared to normal weight boys. In conclusion, our
findings highlight the significant roles of Zn and ZAG in glucose and lipid metabolism.
Furthermore, the Zn/ZAG ratio might be a potential indicator for assessing Zn and ZAG
levels in nutritional balance and the preventing of metabolic diseases. However, further
studies are necessary to validate our results.