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Mol. Cells 2012; 33(6): 591-596

Published online April 27, 2012

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10059-012-0012-7

© The Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology

Differential Patterns of Serum Concentration and Adipose Tissue Expression of Chemerin in Obesity: Adipose Depot Specificity and Gender Dimorphism

Assim A Alfadda1,2,3,*, Reem M Sallam1,3,4, Muhammad Azhar Chishti1,3,4, Amr S Moustafa1,3,4, Sumbul Fatma1,3,4, Waleed S Alomaim4, Mohammed Y Al-Naami5, Abdulelah F Bassas6, George P Chrousos7,8, and Hyunsun Jo9

1Obesity Research Center, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 3Center of Excellence in Biotechnology Research, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 4Clinical Chemistry Unit, Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 5Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 6Department of Surgery, Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 7First Department of Pediatrics, University of Athens Medical School, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, Athens, Greece, 8Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece, 9School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea

Correspondence to : *Correspondence: aalfadda@ksu.edu.sa

Received: January 9, 2012; Revised: March 7, 2012; Accepted: March 16, 2012

Abstract

Chemerin, a recognized chemoattractant, is expressed in adipose tissue and plays a role in adipocytes differentia-tion and metabolism. Gender- and adipose tissue-specific differences in human chemerin expression have not been well characterized. Therefore, these differences were assessed in the present study. The body mass index (BMI) and the circulating levels of chemerin and other inflammatory, adiposity and insulin resistance markers were assessed in female and male adults of varying degree of obesity. Chemerin mRNA expression was also measured in paired subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue samples obtained from a subset of the study subjects. Serum chemerin concentrations correlated positively with BMI and serum leptin levels and negatively with high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol levels. No correlation was found between serum chemerin concentrations and fasting glucose, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, C-reactive protein or adiponectin. Similarly, no relation was observed with the homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values. Gender- and adipose tissue-specific differences were observed in chemerin mRNA expression levels, with expression significantly higher in women than men and in subcutaneous than visceral adipose tissue. Interestingly, we found a significant negative correlation between circulating chemerin levels and chemerin mRNA expression in subcutaneous fat. Among the subjects studied, circulating chemerin levels were associated with obesity markers but not with markers of insulin resistance. At the tissue level, fat depot-specific differential regulation of chemerin mRNA expression might contribute to the distinctive roles of subcutaneous vs. visceral adipose tissue in human obesity.

Keywords adipokines, chemerin, inflammation, subcutaneous fat, visceral fat

Article

Research Article

Mol. Cells 2012; 33(6): 591-596

Published online June 30, 2012 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10059-012-0012-7

Copyright © The Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology.

Differential Patterns of Serum Concentration and Adipose Tissue Expression of Chemerin in Obesity: Adipose Depot Specificity and Gender Dimorphism

Assim A Alfadda1,2,3,*, Reem M Sallam1,3,4, Muhammad Azhar Chishti1,3,4, Amr S Moustafa1,3,4, Sumbul Fatma1,3,4, Waleed S Alomaim4, Mohammed Y Al-Naami5, Abdulelah F Bassas6, George P Chrousos7,8, and Hyunsun Jo9

1Obesity Research Center, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 3Center of Excellence in Biotechnology Research, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 4Clinical Chemistry Unit, Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 5Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 6Department of Surgery, Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 7First Department of Pediatrics, University of Athens Medical School, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, Athens, Greece, 8Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece, 9School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea

Correspondence to:*Correspondence: aalfadda@ksu.edu.sa

Received: January 9, 2012; Revised: March 7, 2012; Accepted: March 16, 2012

Abstract

Chemerin, a recognized chemoattractant, is expressed in adipose tissue and plays a role in adipocytes differentia-tion and metabolism. Gender- and adipose tissue-specific differences in human chemerin expression have not been well characterized. Therefore, these differences were assessed in the present study. The body mass index (BMI) and the circulating levels of chemerin and other inflammatory, adiposity and insulin resistance markers were assessed in female and male adults of varying degree of obesity. Chemerin mRNA expression was also measured in paired subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue samples obtained from a subset of the study subjects. Serum chemerin concentrations correlated positively with BMI and serum leptin levels and negatively with high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol levels. No correlation was found between serum chemerin concentrations and fasting glucose, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, C-reactive protein or adiponectin. Similarly, no relation was observed with the homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values. Gender- and adipose tissue-specific differences were observed in chemerin mRNA expression levels, with expression significantly higher in women than men and in subcutaneous than visceral adipose tissue. Interestingly, we found a significant negative correlation between circulating chemerin levels and chemerin mRNA expression in subcutaneous fat. Among the subjects studied, circulating chemerin levels were associated with obesity markers but not with markers of insulin resistance. At the tissue level, fat depot-specific differential regulation of chemerin mRNA expression might contribute to the distinctive roles of subcutaneous vs. visceral adipose tissue in human obesity.

Keywords: adipokines, chemerin, inflammation, subcutaneous fat, visceral fat

Mol. Cells
Nov 30, 2023 Vol.46 No.11, pp. 655~725
COVER PICTURE
Kim et al. (pp. 710-724) demonstrated that a pathogen-derived Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum type III effector RipL delays flowering time and enhances susceptibility to bacterial infection in Arabidopsis thaliana. Shown is the RipL-expressing Arabidopsis plant, which displays general dampening of the transcriptional program during pathogen infection, grown in long-day conditions.

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