{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T12:28:14Z","timestamp":1785414494408,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]],"date-time":"2026-06-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1780358400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004587","name":"Instituto de Salud Carlos III","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["PI22\/01424"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PI22\/01424"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004587","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["PI22\/01424"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PI22\/01424"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00ca2c886","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Adipsin is a serine protease secreted mainly by adipocytes with a key role in the regulation of lipid metabolism and energy homeostasis. Individuals born small-for-gestational-age (SGA) with excessive postnatal catch-up in weight are at risk of developing central (hepato-visceral) fat deposition and features of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). We assessed cross-sectionally the serum concentrations of adipsin in seventy-five prepubertal children, aged ~7.8 yr, born appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA, N = 40) or SGA (with spontaneous catch-up, N = 35) and their association with markers of abdominal adiposity and metabolic health. Assessments included anthropometry, serum adipsin, glucose, insulin, high-molecular-weight adiponectin (HMW-adip), lipids, and abdominal fat partitioning by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). SGA children had higher serum adipsin levels [1.9 mg\/L \u00b1 0.4 vs. 1.4 mg\/L \u00b1 0.1 (mean \u00b1 SEM); p &lt; 0.001], a less favorable endocrine\u2013metabolic profile, and more hepato-visceral fat. Adipsin concentrations correlated inversely with birth weight and HMW-adip concentrations and positively with markers of insulin resistance, abdominal adiposity, and with the percentage of liver fat. Circulating adipsin concentrations are increased in prepubertal catch-up SGA children and are associated with features of MASLD. Circulating adipsin may become a novel biomarker of ectopic fat accumulation, linking early growth patterns to markers of metabolic risk.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27115023","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]],"date-time":"2026-06-02T12:45:08Z","timestamp":1780404308000},"page":"5023","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Circulating Adipsin as a Biomarker of Liver Fat Content in Prepubertal Children Born Small-for-Gestational-Age"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Marta","family":"D\u00edaz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Endocrinology Department, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de D\u00e9u, University of Barcelona, 08950 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metab\u00f3licas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1210-6094","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marion","family":"Peyrou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine Department, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Network Biomedical Research Center of Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain"},{"name":"Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de D\u00e9u, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abel","family":"L\u00f3pez-Bermejo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric Endocrinology Research Group, Girona Institute for Biomedical Research (IDIBGI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Girona and Dr. Josep Trueta Hospital, 17007 Girona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesc","family":"Villarroya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine Department, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Network Biomedical Research Center of Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain"},{"name":"Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de D\u00e9u, Esplugues de Llobregat, 08950 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francis","family":"de Zegher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Leuven Research & Development, University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paula","family":"Casano-Sancho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Endocrinology Department, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de D\u00e9u, University of Barcelona, 08950 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metab\u00f3licas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4595-7191","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lourdes","family":"Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Endocrinology Department, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de D\u00e9u, University of Barcelona, 08950 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metab\u00f3licas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"202","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhep.2020.03.039","article-title":"A new definition for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease: An international expert consensus statement","volume":"73","author":"Eslam","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. 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