Application of abnormal expression of serum LINC00968 in early identification of childhood obesity risk

Abstract Objectives This study investigates the dysregulated expression of long non-coding RNA LINC00968 in pediatric populations with early-onset obesity or metabolic syndrome (MS), while evaluating its potential utility as a clinical biomarker. Methods The study enrolled children with obesity (classified as simple obesity or obesity-MS) and healthy controls. The level of serum LINC00968 and miR-17-5p were quantified by RT-qPCR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was employed to assess the serum LINC00968’s capacity for risk identification in obese children and the prediction of obesity-MS. Dual luciferase reporter ( DLR) and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) experiments confirmed that LINC00968 can target miR-17-5p. Logistic regression analysis was employed to evaluate the potential risk factors influencing the occurrence of obesity-MS. Results Serum LINC00968 levels were significantly higher in children with obesity compared to controls, with the higher expression observed in those with obesity-MS. In contrast, miR-17-5p expression was significantly downregulated. LINC00968 demonstrated a sensitivity of 86.67 % and a specificity of 90.28 % in distinguishing obese children from healthy controls. In children with obesity, LINC00968 exhibited a significant positive correlation with TG and BMI, and a negative correlation with HDL-C. Molecularly, LINC00968 directly targets miR-17-5p, which is negatively correlated with miR-17-5p in children with obesity. Conclusions Our findings suggest that elevated serum LINC00968 levels could serve as a biomarker for pediatric obesity and MS, potentially driving disease progression via miR-17-5p targeting.