Butyrylcholinesterase and γ-Glutamyltransferase Activities and Oxidative Stress Markers Are Altered in Metabolic Syndrome, But Are Not Affected by Body Mass Index Karine S. De Bona, 1 Gabriela Bonfanti, 1 Paula E. R. Bitencourt, 2 Lariane O. Cargnelutti, 2 Priscila S. da Silva, 2 Leidiane De Lucca, 2 Victor C. Pimentel, 3 Etiane Tatsch, 2 Thissiane L. Gonçalves, 2 Melissa Premaor, 1 Rafael N. Moresco, 1,2 and Maria Beatriz Moretto 1,2,4 Abstract—Metabolic syndrome (MetS) leads to changes in enzymatic activities, oxidative and infla- mmatory parameters. Adenosine deaminase (ADA), dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV), butyrylchol- inesterase (BuChE) and γ-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT) activities, C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and nitric oxide levels (NOx), as well as oxidative stress markers were analyzed in 39 subjects with MetS and 48 controls. Also, the influence of body mass index (BMI) and anthropometric measurements were evaluated. Disturbances in antioxidant defenses and higher γ-GT and BuChE activities, NOx and hsCRP levels were observed in subjects with MetS. These findings remained associated with MetS after adjustment for BMI, except for hsCRP. ADA was correlated with age, insulin levels and HOMA-IR index in MetS. DPP-IV and total cholesterol (TC), BuChE activity and TC, and VIT C and hsCRP levels also were correlated. The analyzed parameters may reflect the inflammatory state of the MetS, and could contribute to prevention and control of various aspects of this syndrome. KEY WORDS: body mass index; butyrylcholinesterase; metabolic syndrome; nitric oxide; γ-glutamyltransferase. INTRODUCTION The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a multi-component disorder characterized by abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and impaired insulin sensitivity, which has received increased attention as an important epidemiologi- cal tool for predicting cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes [1]. The etiology of MetS results of a complex interaction between genetic, metabolic, and environmental factors, including dietary habits and the quality of dietary fat [2]. Globally, the overall prevalence of MetS may vary according to the population, gender, age, geographic loca- tion, other correlated variables, and the diagnostic criteria used [3], and, in studies conducted in Brazil, MetS preva- lence ranged from 19 to 25 % in urban populations [4]. Chronic subclinical inflammation is an intrinsic feature of MetS and during the systemic inflammation, the extracel- lular concentration of the endogenous nucleoside adenosine increases rapidly [5]. Adenosine deaminase (ADA; EC 3.5.4.4) is important in the degradation of endogenous adenosine and in the acute and protracted inflammatory responses [6]. Furthermore, it is known that ADA activity is elevated in diabetes and in hyperglycemic subjects and correlates positively with glucose levels [7, 8], besides being an important enzyme for modulating the bioactivity of insulin [9]. In addition, the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP- IV, CD26, EC 3.4.14.5) plays an important role in the immune system via its ability to bind ADA. Taken together, the co-localization and interaction of the two molecules may result in regulation of extracellular concentration of aden- osine [10]. Serum DPP-IV activity has been measured in 1 Postgraduate Program in Pharmacology, Department of Clinical and Toxicology Analysis, Center of Healthy Sciences, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil 2 Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, UFSM, Santa Maria, Brazil 3 Department of Chemistry, UFSM, Santa Maria, Brazil 4 To whom correspondence should be addressed at Postgraduate Program in Pharmacology, Department of Clinical and Toxicology Analysis, Center of Healthy Sciences, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil. E-mail: beatriz@smail.ufsm.br 0360-3997/13/0000-0001/0 # 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York Inflammation ( # 2013) DOI: 10.1007/s10753-013-9697-9