Middle‐ and high‐molecular weight adiponectin levels in relation to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract

Objective: Adiponectin (APN) circulates as high-molecular weight (HMW), mediummolecular weight (MMW), and low-molecular weight (LMW) forms. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common cause of chronic liver disease. Currently, the role of LMW, MMW, and HMW APN remains largely unclear in NAFLD. Methods:We examined the variation of these forms and analyzed the related clinical characteristics in NAFLD. A total of 63 male NAFLD patients (mean age: 43.00 ± 6.10 years) and 70 healthy male subjects (mean age: 42.53 ± 7.98 years) were included in the study.Total APN and other clinical characteristics were measured. The changes in HMW, MMW, and LMW APN were determined in NAFLD patients and NAFLD patients on a high-fat diet, and the association between the groups was further analyzed.Results: Decreased levels of total APN and three APN isoforms were found in NAFLD. Significantly decreased levels of HMW (P < .01) and MMW (P < .001) were observed in NAFLD of high-fat diet patients. In NAFLD patients, height (R = −.270, P = .032) and N-epsilon-(carboxymethyl) lysine (R = −.259, P = .040) significantly correlated with total APN. HMW APN was significantly associated with fasting plasma glucose (R = .350, P = .016), alanine aminotransferase (R = −.321, P = .029), and aspartate aminotransferase (R = −.295, P = .045). Additionally, MMW APN was significantly associated with total cholesterol (R = .357, P = .014) and high-density lipoprotein (R = .556, P < .0001). Low-density lipoprotein (R = −.283, P = .054) was also clearly associated with LMW APN in NAFLD patients. Conclusion: These results suggest that HMW and MMW APN may be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of NAFLD. K E Y W O R D S adiponectin, high-molecular weight, low-molecular weight, middle-molecular weight, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Association between lower plasma adiponectin levels and higher liver stiffness in type 2 diabetic individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: an observational cross-sectional study

“…Although the results of our study do not have clear implications for clinical practice, they may be important for guiding future mechanistic and intervention studies. In fact, the evidence from this and other studies [ 11 – 16 , 18 ] suggests a possible role of decreased adiponectin levels in the pathophysiology of NAFLD, thus underlining the need for future large-scale studies assessing the predictive as well as the therapeutic role of this adipokine in the spectrum of NAFLD. Additionally, these results may encourage the designing of diagnostic accuracy studies to examine whether plasma adiponectin levels may contribute (alone or in combination with other biomarkers) to the achievement of a non-invasive diagnosis of liver fibrosis.…”

“…In recent years, many observational studies [11][12][13][14][15][16] and some meta-analyses [17] have reported that lower plasma adiponectin levels are significantly associated with the presence and severity of NAFLD, especially in patients without T2DM, thereby suggesting that hypoadiponectinemia might represent a risk factor for NAFLD. However, little information is available to date on the association between lower plasma adiponectin levels and the presence of NAFLD or NASH in patients with T2DM [18].…”

Obesity, elevated levels of fasting plasma glucose and type 2 diabetes are associated with aortic stiffness

“…Despite its well-established role in causing insulin resistance, the cause of adipose tissue infl ammation is not currently understood (12). The adiponectin gene was found to be the most abundantly expressed gene in adipose tissue (43). It encodes a 244-amino-acid protein with a predicted size of 30 kDa (8).…”

Data on Adiponectin from 2010 to 2020: Therapeutic Target and Prognostic Factor for Liver Diseases?

“…In patients with NAFLD, low levels of adiponectin are closely associated with the degree of hepatic steatosis, necroinflammation and fibrosis [ 109 , 110 ]. Adiponectin plays an important role in the progression of simple liver steatosis to NASH [ 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 ]. Thus, different studies suggest the use of serum adiponectin levels as a diagnostic measure of the necro-inflammatory grade and fibrosis in NAFLD, as well as it being a potential NAFLD therapeutic target [ 115 ].…”