Reciprocal Association of C-Reactive Protein With Adiponectin in Blood Stream and Adipose Tissue

TLDR

High‑sensitive C‑reactive protein (hs‑CRP) is a well‑known risk factor for coronary artery disease. This study examined the association between adiponectin and CRP in blood and adipose tissue. The authors enrolled 101 male patients (71 with angiographically confirmed CAD and 30 controls) and quantified CRP and adiponectin mRNA in adipose tissue by quantitative real‑time PCR. Plasma hs‑CRP and adiponectin were inversely correlated, with CAD patients showing lower adiponectin and higher hs‑CRP; adipose tissue CRP mRNA was expressed and inversely correlated with adiponectin mRNA, and was higher in adiponectin‑deficient mice, suggesting a reciprocal relationship that may contribute to atherosclerosis.

Abstract

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 ( r =−0.29, P <0.01). 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 ( r =−0.89, P <0.01). In addition, the CRP mRNA level of white adipose tissue in adiponectin deficient mice was higher than that of wild-type mice. Conclusions— The reciprocal association of adiponectin and CRP levels in both human plasma and adipose tissue might participate in the development of atherosclerosis.