{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:23:49Z","timestamp":1760059429979,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,13]],"date-time":"2025-06-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1749772800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Type II diabetes mellitus (T2D) is a metabolic disorder. Childhood overweight or obesity raises the risk for developing T2D later in life. Early identification of at-risk individuals is fundamental for disease prevention and patient management. The scope of this pilot study was to explore whether leukocyte protein O-GlcNAc modification is elevated in an overweight pediatric cohort. Eight overweight and eight normal-weight children aged 3\u201313 years were recruited at the Papardo General Hospital (Messina, Italy). Physical exams, complete blood tests, and determination of leukocyte protein O-GlcNAcylation were carried out. Protein O-GlcNAcylation was higher in leucocytes from overweight children compared to normal-weight children, and was significantly correlated with BMI, metabolic markers (LDL-cholesterol\/triglycerides), and the inflammatory marker CRP. This study suggests that leukocyte protein O-GlcNAcylation may represent a novel biomarker for the early detection of metabolic abnormalities that may lead to the development of pre-diabetes or T2D later in life.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms26125665","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,13]],"date-time":"2025-06-13T03:53:12Z","timestamp":1749786792000},"page":"5665","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Increased O-GlcNAcylation in Leukocytes from Overweight Pediatric Subjects: A Pilot Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9934-293X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessia","family":"Remigante","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical, Dental and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sara","family":"Spinelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5540-0621","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gianluca","family":"Rizzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Independent Researcher, 98121 Messina, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Daniele","family":"Caruso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Complex Operational Unit of Clinical Pathology of Papardo Hospital, 98166 Messina, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6827-7327","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Angela","family":"Marino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0784-9077","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elisabetta","family":"Straface","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomarkers Unit, Center for Gender-Specific Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanit\u00e0, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6694-9249","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Silvia","family":"Dossena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Research and Innovation Center Regenerative Medicine & Novel Therapies, Paracelsus Medical University, 5020 Salzburg, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4904-4963","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rossana","family":"Morabito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2025, January 10). 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