Evidence mapPaperPMID 42039647Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2026

Extracellular Vesicles From Metabolically Healthy Obesity Convey Distinct Molecular Signals That Initiate Endothelial Dysfunction: A Multi-Omics Study in Adults of African Ancestry.

Malak Abbas, Camryn Bragg, Ahmed Gharib, Abdel G Elkahloun, Merry Lindsey, Amadou Gaye

Abstract readPreprint
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Malak AbbasNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5484-5875
Camryn BraggNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Ahmed GharibNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2476-481X
Abdel G ElkahlounNational Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Merry LindseyDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, School of Graduate Studies, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4090-0391
Amadou GayeDepartment of Integrative Genomics and Epidemiology, School of Graduate Studies, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1180-2792

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) is unstable, with up to 80% of individuals progressing to metabolically abnormal obesity (MAO), yet mechanisms underlying this transition remain unclear. African Americans bear a disproportionate burden of obesity-related cardiovascular disease. Circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate inter-organ communication and may drive MAO-related vascular dysfunction. Methods: Adults of African ancestry were classified as metabolically healthy lean (MHL, n=14), MHO (n=9), or MAO (n=16). Plasma-derived EVs were characterized and their microRNA cargo profiled. Human coronary artery endothelial cells were treated with EVs from each group to assess nitric oxide signaling, oxidative stress, inflammatory activation, and mitochondrial dynamics. Results: MHO participants exhibited preserved insulin sensitivity and lower inflammation compared with MAO despite comparable adiposity. EVs from MHO carried a distinct microRNA signature enriched in miR-148a-5p, miR-181c-5p, and miR-1255a, linked to antioxidant and matrix regulatory pathways. MAO EVs were enriched in miR-3613-3p, miR6842-3p, and miR-326, targeting inflammation and insulin resistance pathways. Compared with both MHL and MHO EVs, MAO EVs suppressed endothelial nitric oxide synthase phosphorylation and reduced nitric oxide bioavailability, with increased reactive oxygen species and ICAM-1 expression. MHO EVs induced an intermediate phenotype with disrupted mitochondrial morphology, supporting a graded continuum of endothelial stress. Conclusions: MHO represents a biologically active intermediate state. Circulating EVs from MHO individuals convey molecular signals that impair endothelial and mitochondrial function, predisposing to vascular injury and progression toward MAO. EV-associated microRNAs are mechanistic mediators and candidate biomarkers of metabolic and vascular deterioration in obesity.

Indexed as

cardiovascular riskendothelial dysfunctionextracellular vesiclesmetabolically healthy obesitymicroRNAmitochondrial dynamicsoxidative stress

Identifiers

PMID42039647
PMCPMC13104872

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.