DUSP21 expression is associated with obstructive sleep apnea in pediatric patients with obesity.

BACKGROUND

Obesity is a well-known risk factor for developing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children. Both OSA and obesity are independently associated with cardiovascular and metabolic comorbidities. These comorbidities are driven by shared pathophysiological pathways, making it difficult to distinguish the individual contributions of obesity and OSA. This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms of OSA in children with obesity through whole blood mRNA sequencing.

METHODOLOGY: Children with obesity, aged 8-18 years, were enrolled at the start of a multidisciplinary weight loss treatment in a tertiary hospital. Polysomnography was used to diagnose OSA (oAHI ≥2), and whole blood samples were collected for mRNA sequencing.

RESULTS

A total of 40 children (mean age 12.4 ± 2.3 years, 57.5 % female) were included, of which 10 patients were diagnosed with OSA. Differential expression analysis identified 11 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between patients with and without OSA. Seven genes were upregulated (SLC43A3, KLRC3, DAAM2, USP9Y, KDM5D, TTTY15, DBCORP1), while 4 genes were downregulated (DUSP21, XIST, MAP, POLR3D). DUSP21 showed the most significant change, with a Log2FoldChange of -7.88 (p = 0.0002).

CONCLUSION

Children with both obesity and OSA exhibit distinct gene expression profiles compared to children with obesity alone. Notably, DUSP21 may play a significant role in the pathophysiological mechanisms of OSA.