OBJECTIVE Adiponectin is an adipocyte-derived protein that acts to reduce insulin resistance in the liver and muscle and also inhibits atherosclerosis. Although adiponectin reportedly enhances AMP-activated protein kinase and inhibits tumor necrosis factor-alpha action downstream from the adiponectin signal, the precise physiological mechanisms by which adiponectin acts on skeletal muscles rema...

Acrp30/adiponectin is reduced in the serum of obese and diabetic individuals, and the genetic locus of adiponectin is linked to the metabolic syndrome. Recombinant adiponectin, administered to diet-induced obese mice, induced weight loss and improved insulin sensitivity. In muscle and liver, adiponectin stimulates AMP-activated protein kinase activation and fatty acid oxidation. To expression-c...

OBJECTIVE To assess whether obesity and systemic inflammation are potential determinants of circulating adiponectin concentrations and whether low adiponectin levels cluster with metabolic syndrome features that are previously documented cardiovascular risk factors in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS We investigated 33 RA patients who were treated with the TNF-alpha antagonist infliximab, i...

The study aimed at assessing the potential use of lower total and HMW adiponectin levels for predicting cardiovascular risk in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Concentrations of total adiponectin or high molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin decrease in association with the development of metabolic dysfunction such as obesity, insulin resistance, or T2DM. Increased adiponectin levels...

BACKGROUND Vascular inflammation and subsequent matrix degradation play an important role in the development of atherosclerosis. We previously reported that adiponectin, an adipose-specific plasma protein, accumulated to the injured artery and attenuated vascular inflammatory response. Clinically, high plasma adiponectin level was associated with low cardiovascular event rate in patients with c...

OBJECTIVE Adiponectin is an adipocyte-derived hormone that plays an important role in glucose and lipid metabolism. The main aims of this study are to investigate the effects of adiponectin on VLDL triglyceride (VLDL-TG) metabolism and the underlying mechanism. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Adenoviruses were used to generate a mouse model with elevated circulating adiponectin. HepG2 and C2C12 c...

Adiponectin is an adipocyte-secreted adipokine with pleiotropic actions. Clinical evidence has shown that serum adiponectin levels are increased and that adiponectin can protect pancreatic beta cells against apoptosis, which suggests that adiponectin may play an anti-apoptotic role in pancreatic cancer (PC). Here, we investigated the effects of adiponectin on PC development and elucidated the u...

In obese humans and animals, adiponectin production and release in adipose tissue are downregulated by feedback inhibition, resulting in decreased serum adiponectin. We investigated adiponectin production and release in ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH)-lesioned animals. VMH-lesioned mice showed significant increases in food intake and body weight gain, with hyperinsulinemia and hyperleptinemia a...

Adiponectin enhances mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative metabolism in skeletal muscle. This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms through which adiponectin induces mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle. Mitochondrial contents, expression, and activation status of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and PPARγ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) were compared between skeletal...

OBJECTIVE Patients with Laron syndrome (LS; primary GH insensitivity) caused by molecular defects of the GH receptor gene, are characterized by dwarfism, profound obesity, and hyperlipidemia. The aim of the current study was to evaluate adiponectin levels in LS, as obesity is known to be associated with low adiponectin. DESIGN AND METHODS We studied nine untreated LS adult patients (5 males, ...