Effects of physical exercise on butyrylcholinesterase in obese adolescents

Abstract The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a 12 week program of physical exercise (PE) on butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) in obese adolescents. This study compared obese adolescents (N = 54) before and after PE, regarding the relative intensity (RI) and activity of different molecular forms (G1, G2, G4 and G1-ALB) of BChE found in plasma. Waist circumference (WC) and lipid profile were also assessed before and after PE. It was shown that before PE, mean plasma BChE activity was significantly higher in obese than in non-obese adolescents and that it was significantly reduced after PE, becoming similar to that found in non-obese adolescents. Lipid profile and WC also changed in response to PE. These results are consistent with studies that found a correlation between BChE and lipid metabolism and suggest that PE may have led to a physiological regularization of plasma BChE activity. Although mean BChE activity of each isoform was significantly reduced by PE, their RI did not change. This is in accordance with a previous suggestion that this proportion is maintained under factors such as obesity, and may therefore be important for BChE functions. Key words: BChE activity; physical exercise, obesity. Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE; EC 3.1.1.8) is coded by BCHE gene (3q26.1-q26.2), synthesized in the liver and distributed to several parts of the organism. Plasmatic BChE is found in four possible homomeric forms (G1 monomers, G2 dimmers, G3 trimers and G4 tetramers) or heteromeric forms formed in association with other proteins, such as albumin, G1-Alb (Masson, 1989). Several studies verified that BChE has a role in lipid metabolism The aim of this study was to compare the relative intensity (RI) of BChE isoforms revealed as bands (G1, G1-Alb, G2 and G4) in obese adolescents before and after 12 weeks of physical exercise (PE), and to search for a correlation between RI of BChE isoform bands, plasma BChE activity and PE. The sample comprised 54 obese adolescents (BMI above percentile 95 and mean age 12.6 ± 2.01), these being participants of a 12 week program of physical exercise. Aerobic exercise consisted of 50 to 100 min activity during the first four weeks. Intensity was set at 35%-55% of VO 2 peak, and was increased to 55%-75% during the next eight weeks. Plasma was sampled at baseline and after terminating the program. A sample of non-obese adolescents (N = 45; mean age 13.3 ± 2.15) was used to measure plasma BChE activity. The detection and analysis of BChE bands in plasma was made according to Mean plasma BChE activity was significantly reduced after the 12 weeks program (before: 7.66 ± 2.64 KU/L, after: 5.89 ± 2.34 KU/L; t = 2.96, p = 0.008). Accompanying BChE activity, waist circumference (WC; before: 97.41 ± 11.20 cm, after: 94.62 ± 10.51 cm, t = 3.6 and p = 0.03), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C; before: 94.45 ± 20.83 mg/dL, after: 86.00 ± 16.37 mg/dL, t = 2.77 and p = 0.012) and triglycerides (TG; before: 114.30 ± 57.14 mg/dL, after: 82.75 ± 42.66 mg/dL, t = 3.1 and p = 0.006) also showed significant reduction with PE

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) decreases butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity and changes its relationship with lipids

Many conditions interfere with butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity, e.g., pregnancy or presence of the BCHE gene variant -116A can decrease activity whereas obesity and types I and II diabetes mellitus can increase activity. In this study, we examined BChE activity, -116A and 1615A BCHE gene variants, and anthropometric and biochemical variables associated with diabetes in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and in healthy pregnant women. BChE activity was measured spectrophotometrically using propionylthiocholine as substrate and genotyping of the -116 and 1615 sites of the BCHE gene was done with a TaqMan SNP genotyping assay. Three groups were studied: 150 patients with GDM, 295 healthy pregnant women and 156 non-pregnant healthy women. Mean BChE activity was significantly lower in healthy pregnant women than in women from the general population and was further reduced in GDM patients. BChE activity was significantly reduced in carriers of -116A in GDM patients and healthy pregnant women. Although GDM patients had a significantly higher mean body mass index (BMI) and triglycerides than healthy pregnant women, they had lower mean BChE activity, suggesting that the lowering effect of GDM on BChE activity was stronger than the characteristic enhancing effect of increased BMI and triglycerides