Background-Adiponectin is an adipocyte-derived plasma protein that accumulates in the injured artery and has potential antiatherogenic properties. This study was designed to determine whether a decreased plasma adiponectin level (hypoadiponectinemia) can be independently associated with the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods and Results-The consecutive 225 male patients were enrolled from inpatients who underwent coronary angiography. Voluntary blood donors (nϭ225) matched for age served as controls. Plasma adiponectin levels in the CAD patients were significantly lower than those in the control subjects. Multiple logistic regression analysis including plasma adiponectin level, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension, smoking habits, and body mass index revealed that hypoadiponectinemia was significantly and independently correlated with CAD (PϽ0.0088). The entire study population was categorized in quartiles based on the distribution of plasma adiponectin levels. The interquartile cutoff points were 4.0, 5.5, and 7.0 g/mL. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratios for CAD in the first, second, and third quartiles were 2.

Background-High-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is a well-known risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD).Recently, we have demonstrated that adiponectin served as an antiatherogenic plasma protein which was secreted specifically from adipocytes. The present study investigated the association between adiponectin and CRP in the blood stream and adipose tissue. Methods and Results-We studied a total of 101 male patients, 71 of whom had angiographically documented coronary atherosclerosis. As a control group, 30 patients with normal coronary angiogram were included. The plasma hs-CRP levels were negatively correlated with the plasma adiponectin levels (rϭϪ0.29, PϽ0.01). The plasma adiponectin concentrations were significantly lower and the hs-CRP levels were significantly higher in the CAD patients compared with control subjects. The mRNA levels of CRP and adiponectin were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction method. We found that the CRP mRNA was expressed in human adipose tissue. A significant inverse correlation was observed between the CRP and adiponectin mRNA levels in human adipose tissue (rϭϪ0.89, PϽ0.01).In addition, the CRP mRNA level of white adipose tissue in adiponectin deficient mice was higher than that of wild-type mice. Key Words: coronary disease Ⅲ risk factors Ⅲ inflammation Ⅲ proteins C -reactive protein (CRP) is a well-known systemic marker for inflammation. Previous prospective studies indicate that a chronic low-grade inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, and elevated highsensitive CRP (hs-CRP) level is a risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). 1,2 Plasma hs-CRP levels were also strongly associated with obesity and obesity-related diseases, including insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia. [3][4][5][6] Although a recent report indicated that the plasma hs-CRP level decreased during weight reduction, 6 the precise interaction of CRP with obesity has not been fully elucidated. Conclusions-TheAdipose tissue secretes various bioactive substances, conceptualized as adipocytokines, including leptin, tumor necrosis factor-␣ (TNF-␣), and adiponectin, that may directly contribute to obesity-liked metabolic and vascular diseases. 7,8 Adiponectin is an adipocyte-specific plasma protein that we identified in a human adipose tissue cDNA library. 8 We have reported that physiological concentrations of human recombinant adiponectin suppressed TNF-␣-induced endothelial adhesion molecule expression, macrophage-to-foam cell transformation, and TNF-␣ expression in macrophage and adipose tissue. 9 -12 Recently, we have reported that adiponectin-deficient mice exhibit severe diet-induced insulin resistance and enhanced neointimal thickening after vascular injury. 12,13 Clinically, hypoadiponectinemia was observed in patients with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and CAD. 9,14,15 These findings suggest that adiponectin has antiinflammatory properties and acts as an endogenous modulator of obesity-related diseases. Atherosclerosis can be...

Abstract-Endothelial dysfunction is a crucial feature in the evolution of atherosclerosis. Adiponectin is an adipocytespecific plasma protein with antiatherogenic and antidiabetic properties. In the present study, we investigated the relation between adiponectin and endothelium-dependent vasodilation. We analyzed endothelial function in 202 hypertensive patients, including those who were not taking any medication. Forearm blood flow was measured by strain-gauge plethysmography. Plasma adiponectin level was highly correlated with the vasodilator response to reactive hyperemia in the total (rϭ0.257, PϽ0.001) and no-medication (rϭ0.296, Pϭ0.026) groups but not with nitroglycerin-induced hyperemia, indicating that adiponectin affected endothelium-dependent vasodilation. Multiple regression analysis of data from all hypertensive patients revealed that plasma adiponectin level was independently correlated with the vasodilator response to reactive hyperemia. Vascular reactivity was also analyzed in aortic rings from adiponectinknockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice. Adiponectin-KO mice showed obesity, hyperglycemia, and hypertension compared with WT mice after 4 weeks on an atherogenic diet. Endothelium-dependent vasodilation in response to acetylcholine was significantly reduced in adiponectin-KO mice compared with WT mice, although no significant difference was observed in endothelium-independent vasodilation in response to sodium nitroprusside. Our observations suggest that hypoadiponectinemia is associated with impaired endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation and that the measurement of plasma adiponectin level might be helpful as a marker of endothelial dysfunction.

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