Expression of Leptin, NGF and Adiponectin in Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract

ATANASSOVA P., HRISCHEV P., ORBETZOVA M., NIKOLOV P., NIKOLOVA J., GEORGIEVA E. 2014. Expression of leptin, NGF and adiponectin in metabolic syndrome. Folia Biologica (Kraków) $ : 301-306. Adipose tissue secretes a variety of adipokines involved in the regulation of energy metabolism and insulin resistance. Metabolic syndrome corresponds to a clinical condition in which white adipose tissue is characterized by an increased production and secretion of inflammatory molecules which may have local effects on adipose tissue physiology but also systemic effects on other organs. The aim of this study was to assess the expression of leptin, NGF and adiponectin in women with metabolic syndrome compared to healthy controls. Plasma leptin, NGF and adiponectin levels were measured by the ELISA method. Leptin and NGF immunohistochemical expression was analyzed in subcutaneous adipose tissue. The results indicated that in women with metabolic syndrome waist circumference, body mass index, HOMA index, glucose, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels were significantly increased in parallel with over-expressed plasma levels of leptin and NGF and decreased adiponectin. The immunohistochemical expression of leptin and NGF was very strong. In conclusion, this is the first study demonstrating a complex of immunochemical and immunohistochemical expression of the key adipokines including leptin, NGF and adiponectin in women with metabolic syndrome. Locally-produced pro-inflammatory adipokines probably contribute to the ethiopathogenic mechanisms of metabolic syndrome.

Interaction of Nerve Growth Factor β with Adiponectin and SPARC Oppositely Modulates its Biological Activity

“…In addition, proteases secreted from activated monocytes and/or neutrophils cleave full-length adiponectin to generate globular adiponectin [36]. Supportively, blood NGF levels are upregulated in a group of women with obesity and the metabolic syndrome [26,27], while circulating adiponectin levels are lower in obese subjects [27]. Therefore, in an adipose tissue from obese subjects where inflammation develops, it is likely to occur that the amounts of NGF and full length adiponectin are increased and decreased, respectively and as a consequence dominance of NGF over adiponectin becomes clear.…”

“…NGF expression and secretion in 3T3-L1 adipocyte culture are markedly increased in response to inflammatory cytokine such as TNF [25]. Moreover, circulating NGF levels are upregulated in a group of women with obesity and metabolic syndrome, which are related to a low-grade systemic inflammation [26,27]. As NGF modulates various immune cell functions [28,29], it is likely that NGF plays roles as an inflammatory mediator in adipose tissues, in addition to roles as a neurotrophic factor.…”

Investigation of the association between cardio-metabolic risk factors, neurotrophins and gastric hormones among apparently healthy women: A cross-sectional analysis

“… 37 One study found that elevated plasma NGF levels in patients with MetS were considerably higher than in normal individuals. 10 It has been suggested that NGF can be involved in cellular function by initiating phosphorylation of the protein cascade. 38 NGF can also affect some metabolic conditions such as diabetes, obesity and MetS.…”

“… 4 , 5 Recently, NGF and BDNF as adipokines are taken into consideration due to their possible roles in some metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus 6 , 7 , atherosclerosis 8 and metabolic syndrome (MetS). 9 Despite the contradictory results 10 , the growing body of evidence suggests that low levels of circulating BDNF and NGF were significantly associated with high body mass index (BMI), hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) and hypertriglyceridemia. 11…”

Epigenetic Regulation of Adipocytes Phenotype: Implication for Perivascular Adipose Tissue Contribution to Cardiometabolic Diseases

“…Both WAT and BAT has been shown to express NGF and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in mouse (Sornelli et al 2009) and in human (Nisoli et al 1996, Peeraully et al 2004. And obesity was associated with an increase of NGF circulating level in women (Bullo et al 2007) and its expression in SAT (Atanassova et al 2014). Moreover, in a model of type 1 diabetes induced by streptozotocin injection in rat, NGF expression has been shown to increase in both WAT and BAT (Sornelli et al 2009).…”