Plasma from pre-pubertal obese children impairs insulin stimulated Nitric Oxide (NO) bioavailability in endothelial cells: Role of ER stress.

Childhood obesity is commonly associated with early signs of endothelial dysfunction, characterized by impairment of insulin signaling and vascular Nitric Oxide (NO) availability. However, the underlying mechanisms remain to be established. Hence, we tested the hypothesis that endothelial insulin-stimulated NO production and availability was impaired and related to Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) cultured with plasma obtained from pre-pubertal obese (OB) children.